There were around 130 high-level Division-I coaches at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. It was before Max Abmas’ senior year in July 2018. Sure, Cole Anthony — now in the NBA — was on the opposing team.
And sure, it was the semifinals of a high-level AAU tournament. So Abmas might not have been the center of attention with talented players all over the court.
But still, there were the eyeballs of more than 100 recruiters from top programs — and any one of them could have recruited the talent that has now taken over the NCAA Tournament.
“[We were] on the last court,” said Max’s father, Troy Abmas. “And the court was surrounded by all these college coaches. All the big college coaches in the game.”
Abmas played at Jesuit in Dallas and for 3-D Sports in AAU ball. The current sophomore is listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds. Scholarship offers didn’t roll in after that tournament. He had just five offers in total, three from military schools, as well as Oral Roberts and Marist.
Russell Springmann, an assistant with the Golden Eagles, decided to make him a priority when almost no one else would. Abmas has rewarded that faith by leading the nation in scoring and putting up a combined 55 points in two massive March Madness upsets. He’s looking for another big performance against Arkansas on Saturday in the Sweet 16 at 6:25 p.m.
“I didn’t have a lot of [recruiters] really offer me like that,” Abmas said. “I was talking to a lot of them, but none of them really [offered].”
When Abmas was in seventh grade, he got into trouble with a teacher at school. There was an AAU basketball game later that day, and Max’s father, Troy Abmas, wanted to make a point.
He told Max that he needed to go and explain to his coach, Kevin Butler, why he wouldn’t be able to play. It broke Troy’s heart because his son immediately started crying, and did so throughout his conversation with Butler.
Troy wanted his son to compete, but he had to prove his point about consequences and actions.
It’s a story, though, they all remember fondly today because it illustrates how Max has gotten to where he is without the obvious physical gifts.
“Just to see that the look on the kid’s face when the game was taken away from him — I mean he cried and he had so much emotion,” Butler said. “That’s Max. He loves the game of basketball.”
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Springmann — who is also credited with recruiting Kevin Durant to Texas — started to grow enamored with Abmas before he saw him play. The two had a conversation. At first Springmann thought it was Abmas’ younger brother because he looked so young.
But he spoke about the game intelligently. And the Oral Roberts coaches were particularly impressed in how he came off of ball screens. Nobody could have predicted what he’s done now, but they saw something in him that others missed.
“I mean I think everybody has a different opinion of what they’re looking for, and or what they need on their team,” Springmann said. “So, I just knew what impressed us.
“I was thankful because I didn’t think Max wanted to go into the military after college was over. … But if I removed those three. It was really, between us and one other school. I was thankful for that.”
It wasn’t as though Abmas was a best-kept secret. His teammate was Julius Marble II, who was recruited by, and now plays, for Michigan State. Jesuit basketball coach Chris Hill thought Abmas would get a lot more interest.
“We had a lot of college coaches in the gym, and they were looking at him,” Hill said. “It’s not like people want to know ‘Who’s that?’ He just wasn’t on the top of a lot of people’s lists.”
He said that Oral Roberts prioritized Abmas — even over other players that wanted to commit ahead of him. Abmas committed after his visit. Two years later, every coach in the country probably wishes he was playing for them. His role as a scorer evolved over the last year. He played a lot more off the ball as a freshman, and even in the early part of his sophomore year.
Because an injury took down Golden Eagues guard R.J. Glasper, the ball ended up in Abmas’ hands far more often. This year, his percent of possessions used is 28.4 percent, compared to 21.2 last year. The possession is ending one way or another with the ball in his hands a lot more.
“We told Max he would have to be way more assertive,” Mills said. “We had to figure out where these other 11 shots were coming from. So we’re a different team … We’re way more ball-dominant with Max.”
The game after Glasper’s injury, Abmas scored 42 points. He had at least 30 points in the three games after that. He took over the season.
This is the player that everyone got to see, but passed on. A scorer with the ability to play on and off the ball.
A shooter who can take over a game by making 43.1 percent of his 3-point attempts. And someone who can handle the ball and only turn it over 11.9 percent of the time.
“Coach [Mills] didn’t say, ‘You’re going to lead the country in scoring’ or ‘You’re going to score 1,000 points before the end of your sophomore season,’” Springmann said. “It was nothing like that. It was the opportunity to play in a style of play that really fit Max extremely well.”
At the start of Oral Roberts’ pre-Sweet 16 press conference on Tuesday, the moderator announced that Max Abmas would be joining to take questions.
Except she pronounced his name Abe-Mus, when it’s actually Ace-Mus — a German pronunciation. It’s an easy enough mistake to make. And one that has probably been made countless times.
For Abmas, being under the radar is nothing new. Last week, his father’s flight was delayed. Troy landed in Indianapolis a little more than an hour before tipoff and had to go above the speed limit to make it to West Lafayette in time for the game.
Now, it’s more than just his father that will do anything to watch him play. The nation will be gripped on Saturday to see if Abmas can will his team to another shocking upset.
When Mills began speaking at the outset of that press conference — after the moderator made the mistake — he started off by correcting the record.
As Abmas becomes a household name, he wanted to make sure people are saying it right.
“Being in the NCAA Tournament, having an opportunity to compete against the top teams in the country,” Abmas said. “That’s always one of your dreams. … It’s just one of those things that I’ll be able to remember for the rest of my life.”
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