Putting NBA riches on hold; Deacons' Aminu could have left last year, but is glad he stayed

Considering the millions of dollars Al-Farouq Aminu has already turned down once to remain at Wake Forest, no one will be surprised to see him leave after this season to join the NBA.

But Aminu hasn't left yet, figuratively or literally, and he is adamant that he won't until his sophomore season ends. He said he returned to play another full year of college basketball, not to showcase his abundant talents to NBA scouts.

He and his brother Alade, a senior last year at Georgia Tech who is now playing for the Erie Bayhawks in the NBA Development League, have seen what can happen to a player whose body remains in college after his mind has moved on. And they've seen what can happen to that player's team.

"My brother, last year he knew some players in the league who would say, ‘Man I had 20 last night. The NBA scouts are going to like that.' " Aminu said. "When you start thinking like that, you're only going to hurt your team, and it's only going to make you look bad.

"Like you can kind of pick up on it. You can look at a player and go, ‘He did that move right there just for a scout.' It kind of shows and then you're not even playing just for like the love of the game anymore. You're just playing for a scout.

"It's not even fun to watch anymore when you're doing stuff like that."

Coach Dino Gaudio said that if Aminu looks like a top-15 pick -- considered by some to be a certainty -- he'll advise him to make himself available for the June draft. But Gaudio said he won't even concern himself with that possibility until the season is over, and better still, he's convinced that Aminu won't either.

There was reason to wonder last season how much of an impact the career decisions facing sophomores Jeff Teague and James Johnson -- who eventually left for the NBA -- had on the distasteful way the season ended. The Deacons, after winning six of their final seven regular-season games, missed 52 field-goal attempts in a 75-64 loss to Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament, then crashed and burned in an 84-69 loss to 13th-seed Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Gaudio said that Aminu has given him no reason to wonder about such questions.

"I think the most important thing we can do for him and for us is to try to get better, worry about what's happening today and when the time comes and the season is over, we'll talk,"' Gaudio said. "That's all.

"The good thing about this kid is -- and you hear if from all the other kids -- it's nary a word in the locker room. Not a single word about next year. Nothing. Nothing. And I'm not sure that was the case last year. You'll never hear him talk to the other kids anything about that.

"I just think the kid wants to win. I really do."

Senior L.D. Williams said that when teammates broach the subject with Aminu, Aminu just laughs it off.

"Farouq is one of those kids, he's real humble," Williams said. "It can be distracting, but with Farouq it's not. That's why he's a really good player because he doesn't let that affect him. He knows what we need him to do in order for us to win, and he does it.

"He doesn't try to go out there and do his own thing. He's still staying with the team."

Aminu was projected as a first-round pick last season, as much for his potential and promise as for the 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds he averaged. He said last February that he wanted to return for his sophomore year and intended to if financial considerations didn't dictate otherwise.

The son of two educators, Aboubakar and Anjirlic Aminu (who have divorced but remain involved in the lives of their three sons), Aminu has always put great stock in education. He also knew his game needed much work.

"Money does help," Aminu said. "I'm not from the wealthiest of families, but if I keep staying in school I'll be able to get my degree. I kind of like the place I am in my life where if I wanted to, in basketball, I could keep going, but then again I could keep going to school. That's always going to be there.

"I think that's what made me come back last year because my dad really stressed that to me. He was like ‘Basketball, that's a great thing. I want you to go pro.' When you're looking at your kid you want him to do all his dreams and stuff.

"But then he was like, ‘You've got to look at the spot you are at in life. If you wanted to do something business-wise out of basketball, you can do that, too. Another year won't hurt.' That's what he always used to say."

Aboubakar Aminu was right. Another year hasn't hurt Aminu. Gaudio said it has helped immensely.

The statistics support Gaudio's position. Against ACC competition, the best indicator, Aminu leads the league with averages of 10.7 rebounds and 4.6 offensive rebounds. He is fourth in blocked shots (1.5 bpg), fifth in scoring (16.2 ppg) and field-goal percentage (45.0), tied for fifth in steals (1.5 spg) and ninth in minutes (33.5 mpg).

"I think he has gotten stronger," Gaudio said. "I think he has understood practice preparation. I think he's rebounding the ball better.

"I really believe this with all my heart, that if he'd have come out last year, he would possibly be in the D-League.

"He had a great summer. He's had a great season thus far. Now we've got a ways to go yet, but if you can lead this league in rebounding, that says a lot."

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