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[BSLChrisStoner]

One of the primary reasons that Dalonte Hill was added to Maryland's Coaching staff, was to improve the Terps relationship with the AAU Squad DC Assault.

Recently you have been hearing from some Terps fans who want to see tangible results.

Yesterday, Kansas State's Sr. Forward Jamar Samuels was held out of the K-State / Syracuse game, because had received a $200 wire from DC Assault President Curtis Malone. Samuels was reportedly out of money and hungry. That said, it is not permissible for NCAA players to receive any money from their former AAU programs.

Malone admitted to sending Samuels money to the Topeka Capital-Journal, but did not believe it to be a violation of NCAA rules, as Malone is not a supporter or booster of K-State. I call bs on that. If the stipulation exists that NCAA players can not receive money from their former AAU programs, I'm sure Malone is aware that any money sent (no matter the intent) would be a violation.

What is interesting to me is that Samuels apparently did not go to his HC at K-State to tell him of predicament, he went to Malone. Perhaps I am reading too much into that, but to me this provides indication of how large the sphere of influence can be between an AAU program and player.

If you are a college fan, say of the Terps, you want to have a relationship with that AAU program; so that influence can be used to push players towards Maryland. I had a lot of respect for Gary Williams not wanting to play this game. For other MD fans, they were irritated to no ends by Williams seemingly ignoring players from certain AAU programs.

You can argue if MD is better / or worse for now pursuing these relationships and players. You can't argue that it is a new day for the program.

[bnickle]

You have to play ball with these AAU teams to be successful in college basketball nowdays. That doesn't mean you do anything illegal but you have to play the game. Besides, Gary's recruiting issues went far beyond just AAU relationships. He had no desire to hit the trail hard, evaluate players, or sometimes even meet up with visiting recruits who were visiting College Park.