I heard about this kid last year, I saw him play and hes pretty good. But I heard that people dont think hes really 14. Someone read a Sports Illustrated article on him that said that they were investigating his age because they think he lied when he came from Africa. Is this true?
He looks 14. I've seen him up close and personal. He's really small and his face is young. But he talks like he is 24.
What reasons are there for lying about his age? In 60 Minutes, Leslie Stahl joked that if he wanted to reveal something about his age they could go get his license right now.
Well if he lied about his age when he was moving here from Africa, then his drivers license would say 14 too.
Well if hes 14 that that is insane because as he gets older he will be insanse since he is just playing with completely raw talent. If hes 20 then hes jst another above average player that might get better but his game has been pretty much already molded. Also if hes 20 or somewhere around there then he doesnt deserve any of the hype because his age is why he is so popular.
I like the old Barkleyism that nobody really knew Hakeem's age because they wrote their birthdays in the sand over there.
Would it make a difference? If solid proof were found that he lied about his age, would he face any kind of trouble for it? More importantly, does it matter? They will never find such proof, and there may always be a debate. But he'll always be remembered as 14.
So his mom and Earl Woods planned for him to be the American Soccer Jebus at age 8. He doesn't look 20, and that kid isn't stupid academically. Or maybe it's from all those years of repeating the same grade. The proof will be in his play, I guess. He has enough things to worry about than this.
An investigation for SI by the same people who revealed Danny Almonte's real age, concluded that he was indeed 14.
He used to play for this school up here in DC all my friends teach at and they say he's about 15 or 16, still young, I think he just doesn't really know his age.
I think he is 16, 17, or maybe 18 - they lowered his age so he could play against younger kids allowing him to get a scholarship etc. They had no idea he would be SO great already and now they are stuck. Just like Hakeem was...
So that he could seem to be a better prospect than he really is. Why don't you ask Octavio Dotel why he added 2-3 years to his age.
In baseball, there are rules as to the age guys had to be to be signed. So, there were a number of guys that said they were older than they were so they were old enough to sign.
From Jayson Williams' book : When Manute Bol and I played on the 76ers together, I think he was about fifty-seven. Seriously. I asked him one time how old he was. He said he wasn't sure. "Manute", I said, "don't you all have birthday parties in Africa?" He told me naw, what they do is put a little chop in the village tree each time one of the village kids gets a year older. So I said, "How many chops the last time you looked?" "I can't remember," he says. "They chopped the tree down, and that was a long time ago."
Why? I have no reason to think he lied about his age, but I think there would be clear advantages to him doing that. Much of the hype etc around him is because of his age. He wouldn't have near as much hype I don't believe if he was someone at an older age playing like this.
How in the hell does this thread have 1,500+ views to it and only 17 posts??!! Er make that 19 (counting mine and the original)
Dotel didn't add 2-3 years to his age. MLB did. After 9/11, a lot more attention was paid to passports. A number of MLB players gained some years. You can see a number of players whose ages "changed" in this Rob Neyer article from 2002. http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2002/0301/1343357.html Look for the column dated March, 4.
