ROXBURY, Mass. – As Abdul-Malik Abu and Jared Terrell made their college announcement on Saturday, there was much more going on than the headline attraction of two young men deciding where they be a year from now. While Abu had fun with it by grabbing the Oklahoma State cap and handing Terrell the NC State cap – before swapping them to the school each chose – there was also the reality of the setting and who these young men were, a point Terrell’s great grandmother drove home.
“Just remember that you come from Boston, Massachusetts,” she said to cheers from the packed house in a room at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
Teammates in the Expressions program, both young men have grown up as basketball players in the same building where they made the announcement. It has been a site of frequent workouts, while their program has played in events held in that building. Just over two months ago, in fact, they stood in the winner’s circle there in the Hoopville Spring Finale, a rare opportunity to play close to home after traveling to a number of cities for events in the Nike EYBL circuit and for other tournaments.
“This building is everything to me,” said Terrell, a Weymouth native. “Without this place, who knows where I’d be.”
Indeed, it was a monumental day for the Boston area, with Dorchester native Abu and Terrell making this announcement right in Roxbury. Abu thought of the person whose name is on the building in having some perspective.
“He had a big impact,” said Abu of the late Northeastern and Boston Celtics star, adding, “This is where we started.”
Like many others before and with them, both players left the area to go to prep school. Abu is entering his third year at Kimball Union Academy, while Terrell is heading into his second year at Brewster Academy after spending a year at New Hampton School. That should help when they go to school far from home, as they have already experienced it although to a lesser degree. Both are different players than they were beforehand, a testament as much to the work ethic both have shown as being in a different school.
Abu has always had a high motor, but his skill level has gone up dramatically. He’s not just a physical post player anymore, as he has more range on his jumper and is a better passer. In addition, he said working on his jumper remains an area he is focusing on improving. He can be a double-double player with his ability to rebound, and was one of the finalists for the Nike EYBL MVP. Terrell has always had a good body and athleticism, but his jumper is better and he’s now more consistent. He has had a tendency in the past to dominate for a few minutes of a game and be on a milk carton for the rest of the game, but he’s slowly shedding that as he’s playing with a killer instinct more often. While he’s wired more to score, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he one day plays the point guard spot in a pinch.
Both have had a chance to hone their game in the prep ranks, which has helped. They have played against a higher level of competition on a consistent basis there. But it hasn’t been as simple as going to prep school and magically getting recruited at a higher level, something Abu described as a “misconception.” Both were talented before they went to prep school, but merely attending one didn’t change them.
“It’s totally different than public school,” said Terrell. “You have to work day in, day out with the coaches and develop chemistry with your teammates since you don’t know them right away.”
While Terrell is more of a quiet young man, Abu is very charismatic. Even while changing travel teams and schools, Abu never forgot his roots or those he knew all along. It wasn’t all that long ago that he was sitting on the bench of a team on his old program, the Greater Boston Lions, during a game while they played in the same event Expressions did. Those were his friends and he wasn’t going to be denied the chance to be with them.
Now both young men head off to college, which is another very different experience, and they will be separated once again. They will enter being about as well-prepared as they can be, but also having gone through a lot to get this far. And if Saturday is any indication, they aren’t going to forget the words Terrell’s great grandmother had to offer.
