The one person who might have had veto power over sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu's decision to turn pro didn't choose to exercise it.
Aminu said yesterday that he definitely decided to leave Wake Forest last Wednesday, once he talked to his father, Aboubakar Aminu. He had already talked with his mother, Anjirlic, his brother Alade, his coaches and teammates at Wake Forest and others close to him back home in Norcross, Ga.
He was leaning toward leaving, and his father, a native of Nigeria who is now an accountant in Lafayette, Ind., gave him no reason not to. Aminu's parents divorced when he was a freshman in high school, and Anjirlic lives in Norcross.
"The last person was my dad," Aminu said. "I had to call my dad and make sure he felt OK. If he had pulled the string and said no, I would have probably -- maybe -- come back. I trust his opinion a lot."
And it wasn't just what Aboubakar Aminu said but how he said it.
"My dad was all for it," Aminu explained. "He was saying that you go to school to make money, and if this is the way you're going to make money, then that's what you should go for.
"But he also wants me to finish my school. He said, ‘If you can go back to school, I'm happy with your decision.'"
Aminu is the third sophomore in the past two seasons to leave Wake Forest to make himself available for the NBA Draft. James Johnson, the 16th pick in last June's draft, is now with the Chicago Bulls. Jeff Teague, the 19th pick last June, is now with the Atlanta Hawks.
A survey of mock drafts strongly suggests that Aminu will be among the first players chosen. DraftExpress projects him to be drafted fifth overall by the Washington Wizards. ESPN and MyNBAdraft.net project him as the sixth pick, going to the Sacramento Kings. NBADraft.net projects him as the seventh pick, going to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Aminu led the ACC with 10.7 rebounds a game and 4.3 offensive rebounds a game. He ranked sixth in the conference with a field-goal percentage of 44.7, sixth with 1.6 blocked shots a game and eighth with 15.8 points a game.
"I felt like I did enough to become a top first-round pick," Aminu said. "So with that being in hand, and already getting two years under my belt and maturing as a player, I felt like it was time.
"Of course you can always get more school learning and you can always get better as a player, but I feel I can do some of that in the league as well."
Aminu, who said he has yet to sign with an agent, has until May 8 to withdraw his name from the draft and retain his NCAA eligibility, but he said he doesn't plan to do so.
Aminu is pursuing a degree in communications. He said he hopes to complete his spring-semester classes while choosing his representation and working out, and that he might return this summer for an independent-studies course.
Coach Dino Gaudio said several times this season that he expected Aminu to enter this June's draft, and that he would advise him to if it became apparent he would be one of the first 15 players chosen. Aminu said that Gaudio and his staff served an advisory role, accumulating as much information as possible about Aminu's standing with different NBA clubs and providing pros and cons for any decision.
The toughest part of leaving, Aminu said, was saying goodbye to his teammates, especially the two with whom he arrived, fellow sophomores Tony Woods and Ty Walker.
"It was really hard," Aminu said. "After my freshman year, it was a really hard decision, but I chose to come back to school. But this year, I never like losing at the end of the season, so that played a big factor. And then all my friends I had come in with, it was hard for them. But they were telling me, ‘You should go, you've got to follow your dreams,' and stuff like that.
"I felt when they were OK with it, and really just looking forward to me (being) on the next level, I think with that and what my parents were saying, it helped me."
dcollins@wsjournal.com
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