Olu decommits; RU still leader

MATT AGNOLI

Philadelphia – Olu Ashaolu, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward with a frame perfectly suited for the Big East, has a flood of talent and promising attributes. Dunks. Defense. Hustle.

Yet at the RBK U camp in Philadelphia, where he has impressed many in attendance, the latest news on Ashaolu is this: drama.

Ashaolu, a Canadian who plays his high school ball at Christian Life Center (TX), has decided to de-commit and reopen his recruitment, as first reported by Jerry Carino of the Courier Post Sunday night.

His change-of-heart means the Scarlet Knights have one less commitment for the class of 2008 and an even larger hole to fill for their forward positions.

The rumor-turned-reality has added to the ire of Rutgers fans and sent off celebratory text-messages from rivals, who have new life in landing the high-riser.

So why did Ashaolu renege from his verbal to Rutgers?

“He just wants to make sure it’s a real good opportunity,” said his AAU coach Ro Russell,

“Ashaolu is a prototypical Big East wing, and he wants to make sure that there are other guys (Rutgers) is recruiting so he doesn’t have to play the four-position. That’s one of the major issues.”

Still, Rutgers remains atop Ashaolu’s list of schools, according to Russell, and he is very fond of the coaching staff and players he has met there.

“Rutgers is still very much in the lead of his recruitment. We just want to go over some of the details and some of the issues.

“Nothing specifically has happened to change his mind or anything like that. He just wants to make sure.

“There is always that little time where you kind of second-guess yourself,” Russell said. “Like ‘Did I really make the perfect decision?’ He’s just trying to make sure it’s the best possible decision.