Colleges are coming calling for this ex-Hendricken hoops star
For all his success over the last 16 months, Azmar Abdullah flashed back to a game where he didn’t score a single point.
Bishop Hendricken outlasted Classical in overtime to capture the boys basketball open state tournament crown last March. Abdullah was 0-for-4 from the field on a night that belonged to backcourt partner Eze Wali and current Pittsburgh quarterback David Lynch. He left the Ryan Center a bit conflicted — pleased the Hawks were taking home the crown but disappointed he couldn’t contribute more.
“I didn’t have the junior year I wanted,” Abdullah said. “I didn’t score in the championship game – I felt pretty down about that. But I knew that was sort of a blessing in disguise. I had to put more work in going into that summer.”
It’s certainly paid off. Abdullah helped lead Bishop Hendricken to another state crown this winter and was the Gatorade Player of the Year. He’s now weighing multiple college offers, a number that’s still growing as Abdullah approaches a prep year at Vermont Academy.
NCAA Tournament darling Fairleigh Dickinson came first, handing Abdullah his initial Division I opportunity barely a month after upsetting Purdue as a No. 16 seed. New Hampshire, NJIT and American followed within the next month. Abdullah was officially building momentum entering the spring grassroots circuit with Basketball Club Rhode Island.
“They’re looking for a scoring point guard who can lead the team right away,” Abdullah said. “Pretty much all the coaches I’ve talked to love how I play with that chip on my shoulder. I don’t back down from any competition.”
Abdullah is a left-hander who has good length for the position at 6-foot-3 and plenty of experience playing off the ball. He hits the scoresheet in bunches – 30 points and seven 3-pointers in a BCRI game at Virginia Beach, 31 points and six 3-pointers in another at Atlantic City. That strong showing over the past few months on the Hoop Group circuit came after averaging 22.8 points, 5.6 assists and 1.8 steals in his final year at Bishop Hendricken.
“They've said my scoring and my shooting are a big part of my game,” Abdullah said. “My leadership is something they took into consideration when recruiting me for sure.”
Abdullah’s most recent pair of offers came from Boston University and Brown. His academic performance has opened the door for the Patriot League and the Ivy League to come calling. The classroom was something stressed by Jamal Gomes, the longtime coach and current athletic director with the Hawks.
“Coach Gomes was big on basketball only taking you so far,” Abdullah said. “Academics is definitely a big piece of it. Coach Gomes preached that.”
Committing to the Bears would allow Abdullah to play a significant chunk of his college career in front of friends and family. His father, Akbar, was a standout at Davies and later played at the Community College of Rhode Island. He’s known Brown associate head coach TJ Sorrentine for two decades.
“It would definitely be great having my family at those games,” Abdullah said. “My parents, my cousins – anybody who wanted to come to those games. Playing in front of the hometown would be surreal for me.”
Abdullah will reunite next season with former Bishop Hendricken teammate Darius Lopes, who is a 2025 guard with the Wildcats. Scoring wing Joson Sanon should be the focal point, a 2025 prospect who holds a host of high-major offers from the likes of Providence, Marquette, Iowa, Boston College, Georgetown, Alabama, Connecticut and more. Abdullah looks forward to developing his game both in practice and against rugged NEPSAC opponents.
“Those schools like Brewster, New Hampton – just playing against that better competition – will definitely prepare me for the Division I level,” Abdullah said. “Those hard practices against Division I players every day will prepare me for sure.”
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: College come calling for ex-Hendricken hoops star Azmar Abdullah
