Former USF signee Akol picks Oklahoma State

Former USF signee Teeng Akol, released from his scholarship with the Bulls last month after learning he would not be admitted to USF, has committed to play for Oklahoma State, his advisor said Monday.

Fatah Muraisi said Akol committed to OSU coaches after making a campus visit this weekend. He also considered Nebraska, Missouri, Fresno State and West Virginia. Muraisi said Akol opted not to pursue West Virginia because "nobody knew the rules or could tell us clearly" about transfers within the Big East. Muraisi said he's confident that Akol will be admitted into school at Oklahoma State.

"I'm disappointed for USF," he said. "It's been hard for them to get kids of this caliber, but that will come easier with a few more wins."

FOOTBALL: USF is making a push to reset its attendance record for a season opener when the Bulls play Tennessee-Martin on Aug. 30, and the Bulls have offered another deal to try to top the crowd of 49,212 that saw USF's first-ever game against Kentucky Wesleyan in 1997.

Any fans purchasing single-game tickets for other Bulls home games got an e-mail last week allowing them to add upper-level tickets for the UT-Martin game at $5 each.

Comments

[Windbane]

Does this mean we have better academic standards than all those other schools?

Oh, and welcome back to twittering.

[G.A.]

Glad to be back. Sign up to follow the Twitter for free at twitter.com/gregauman.

[Tom]

Wow, sounds like they really want to break the record. I think it is an excellent strategy.

[Bull Hooper]

Greg, i dont understand what happened to this young basketball player. Is he not at USF because his grades were inadequate? If so, why is he so qualified to get into all of those other schools? Or is there another reason? When his representative says what he says, it almost makes it sound like it was not USF's decision.

[DJ]

The kid was at USF on the condition he would be able to pass his summer school classes. He was not close. He will be lucky to pass at OSU or maybe someone will do it for him. Who knows.

[DJ]

You can commit anywhere you want. That does not mean you will get in the school or stay in. His plans will probably be to go pro in Europe because he will not graduate from college.

[Reality]

When you fail introduction to college as reported on some blogs, are you really planning on playing there for 4 years?

OSU is world class at passing guys that shouldnt be passed, so it is a good spot.

Good question though, is knowing Akol's record, and his unlikely approval to USF, why did Stan waste so much time trying to get him to USF??

[G.A.]

Reality, where'd you read that?

[DJ]

Reality,
When you need big players and you have a chance at a player like Akol, you go for it. He was in a good prep school and qualified on his SAT. You never know how bright the kid actually is until he shows up for college classes. College is another world compared to HS. Heath had nothing to lose by recruiting Akol.

[Herman Momart]

I heard it was University Experience, not Introduction to College.

Either way sounds like a layup course.

[Dave W]

I agree that taking the leap of faith that Akol could get in was worth it. We really needed him, because there really weren't any other bigs that could have played next season (although I'm not sure what happened with Goins).

Anyways, his rejection shows that USF is at least somewhat committed to upholding the academic integrity of the athletics department, and at the end of the day, I think that preserving our integrity is more important that the few wins Akol could have provided. As a disclaimer, Akol and Justin Green could never, ever, be considered for admission to a university if they weren't high-level athletes. But they were so far below the acceptable level of slack that they had to be denied admission. Other players are certainly well below USF's average SAT and GPA, but so are UF's, Michigan's, and even Harvard's.

[Reality]

You are correct, I assumed University Experience was Introduction to College, I can find the link if you really want Greg. I didn't realize there was a difference, other than semantics. If it was not from failure, can you let us know.

[Starececyc]

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