Abdul Gaddy and Mike Moser Decommit

If you've been reading the site for the last few months, you know I'm a big fan of both Washington high school point guard Abdul Gaddy and Portland's #1 high school prospect, forward Mike Moser.

Both had committed to University of Arizona. In the wake of Lute Olsen's retirement, both have decommitted. No word yet on where they have landed although Gaddy is eyeing UCLA and UW.

A few weeks back at the Clash of the Classes, they both spoke about how they looked forward to playing with each other. It will be quite sad if they choose to go separate ways...

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

over 3 years ago Ben Golliver 8 comments 0 recs |

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Anger

Is all I have to offer.
Lute went out like a …… (family friendly site, i keep telling myself)
The LEAST he coulda done was recruit a replacement and call the players. Instead he disappears off the map
Jerk

another sad alumni.. sigh

"Why would we lie to ourselves dude?"
"Be excellent to each other."
"All we are is dust in the wind, dude."
"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."

The Wisdom of Bill S Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan

by GreatOden'sRaven on Oct 27, 2008 5:19 PM PDT reply actions

alzheimers?

that would be the only acceptable explanation at this point….

what a dirtbag.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 27, 2008 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions

ummm

I appreciate the incite, but when a man does as much for a community and university as Lute has done for Tucson and the UofA he deserves a little bit more respect.

He has ACTED like a dirtbag, sure… but he is not a dirtbag. Because of this ridiculous timing (for the second year), not only have these three young men decommited, but there will not be a national search for his replacement for at least 9 months. Lute’s has set the program back 3, or 4 years because of this gaff.
However, he did build this program from scratch and the fans and professional NBA alumni owe everything to this man.

And… Ben, I have nothing but respect for you, however the man’s name is OLSON. Talking about alzheimer’s and you didn’t even spell his name right!

He rolled in like the Spanish Armada.
Got style? he’s seen sportin Prada.
With a dish and some dunks,
the kid layed out them punks,
Rudy’s here! Hide your wife, hide your daughta!

by cic on Oct 27, 2008 6:37 PM PDT reply actions

lol

if a one letter typo is the same thing as publicly divorcing your wife, getting remarried to a much younger woman, quitting on a program and leaving it hanging for a full season, alienating your top assistant so that he leaves, then coming back and then quitting it again at a time that is guaranteed to wipe out recruiting efforts, i guess we’ve both got alzheimers.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 27, 2008 6:42 PM PDT up reply actions

i’ve met and spoken with coach olson and he was quite pleasant. but to your point about lute deserving more respect, i think it is the players that deserve a baseline of respect. by committing to the school the players expected the school/coach to commit back. now they are left to scramble to land somewhere else. horrible situation.

once his decommits land safely, i’ll be more inclined to soften my stance on olson. until then, brandon jennings looks like a genius and lute olsen looks like a dirtbag.

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 27, 2008 6:48 PM PDT up reply actions

nah

no accusations here,

and I agree with you completely that he screwed over the players, and the season ticket holders as well. All I am saying is: “lute looks like a dirtbag” is not the same as “Lute is a dirtbag”.

“publicly divorcing your wife” ? as in… he wanted to be dragged through the mud for a year? No, the reason it was “public” had nothing to do with Olson. His ex in question owns a publicity firm… you do the math.

“getting remarried to a much younger woman” as in… every 70yr old American’s dream?

I am a fan of Arizona Basketball which means that I have been a fan of Lute for 25+ years. I am not defending his actions, he has acted like an ass for the past 12 months…. but that does not make him an ass. He is a gentleman who until recently has always done it with class and respect for the game. It just amazes me that people can discount the last 25 years when talking about him now. He retired, he didn’t kill someone, he didn’t become a crack head. He retired.

Gaddy, Moser and Solomon Hill all have plenty of suitors and plenty of time to pick a school….and, for the record, the only thing that Jennings chose was to avoid hitting the books. He did not decide to go to Europe, he didn’t qualify on the third test and could not get into school… go ask him, he will tell you that himself. Too bad, that guy is the real deal… and so is Gaddy. Oh well, it was a good run while it lasted… now we just need to convince Mark Few to take the job and it will all work out in the end.

He rolled in like the Spanish Armada.
Got style? he’s seen sportin Prada.
With a dish and some dunks,
the kid layed out them punks,
Rudy’s here! Hide your wife, hide your daughta!

by cic on Oct 27, 2008 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions

http://www.azfamily.com/yahoo_rss/stories/Tucson_local_news_042508_lute-wife.9c8c5590.html

lute did his part too, he went to the media. don’t blame it all on his wife. and frankly, if my spouse was moving money out of my bank accounts i would raise a fit too. especially if millions of dollars and my financial security was at stake.

i get that you hold lute in high regard. im not trying to take that from you. but good people can do really bad things that can compromise their legacy. lute is a multi-multimillionaire. read about gaddy and moser and the opportunities they really have available to them, talk to the family and the people around them. lute put himself before those kids, going against everything a coach should be doing, against everything a college program should stand for. he didn’t just do it to the recruits last year, this year and next year, he did it to all of his current players as well, not to mention his basketball staff (assistant coaches, athletic department, etc.). that doesn’t erase his good acts, but it will certainly be a stain on his legacy no matter how you look at it.

bayless was also smart to get out and he took a lot of flack for it at the time.

jennings looks like a genius (despite the poor sat and grades) because he is moving on with his career (quite successfully) while lute is done and in shambles. that was my only point with jennings, who is also a nice kid who i spoke briefly with at the LSI. he’s got his own issues but the instability of UA certainly didn’t do him any favors.

and i would really hope that not every 70 year old man is looking to trade down…

honor terry porter

by Ben Golliver on Oct 27, 2008 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Trade down?

I would certainly never imply that any 70 year old men would leave their wives for a younger woman, so please do not interject that into this circular logic. He was single, he married a younger woman, simple as that.

Thank you for the link, but I live in Tucson. I also happen to have been friends with the Olson family for over 20 years. I know exactly what is going on down here.
You seem to take this personally due to your connection with Gaddy and Moser… players who you are a fan of. That’s cool. I get where you are coming from, but this whole situation is way more personal to me than it could ever be to you.

I am being objective here, and pointing out that Lute is 100% to blame. I also don’t understand all of the hate coming from every corner of the planet towards him.

He rolled in like the Spanish Armada.
Got style? he’s seen sportin Prada.
With a dish and some dunks,
the kid layed out them punks,
Rudy’s here! Hide your wife, hide your daughta!

by cic on Oct 27, 2008 9:19 PM PDT up reply actions