Gimme the Loot

Bosh can't enroll in school this Fall. I had high expectations of Bosh after watching him compete against some local guys during open gym. He was tall (6'3). His arms were long. And even though his frame was thin, he was willing to bang inside with anybody. That was a big deal because finding a young player who's willing to get dirty in the paint is like winning $500 on a $1 scratch ticket. After watching him play for an hour and change, I felt comfortable enough to invite him back for the Fall.

Bosh is a 22 year old who lives almost three hours away from here in a rural town. He's unemployed and lives with a family friend. A couple of years after he graduated from high school, his mother decided to leave the area and move in with her boyfriend who lives down south. For reasons that were not explained to me, she left him here. Aside from the fact that Bosh didn't have a job, I was a little concerned about this rift with his mom.

My intuition was raging after our first teleconference. Since he was referred to me by a coach at a 4-year college who had tried unsuccessfully to recruit him a few years before, I decided to let my guard down. After we met in person and spoke a few more times, I felt better about having Bosh move here for school. My sense was that he just needed some guidance and reassurance along the way to keep him on board.
When Bosh left campus, I gave him three weeks to get his financial aid application done. The deadline passed and he hadn't completed it. I gave him another week to get it done. I got nada. At that point, I decided to stop chasing him. During his initial visit to campus, I had made it clear to Bosh that my patience for nonsense was short. He promised that I'd have no problems with him. Unfortunately, he was unaware of his own limitations.

A month before school started he sent me a message on facebook. I asked him to call me.

Bosh: I hadn't heard from you in awhile so I'm just seeing what's up.
Me: Is your financial aid done?
Bosh: No.
Me: So then there's nothing to talk about.
Bosh: I been goin' through a lot. Me and my moms ain't talkin. She won't do my financial aid app. I don't know what to do.
Me: Why didn't you tell me that a month ago? I could've called her.
Bosh: I don't know. I just don't say nothin when stuff is goin' on. Figure just deal wit it but I really wanna go to school.
Me: You can't do much without financial aid. And plus, you need at least $900 to pay first and last. Did you work this summer?
Bosh: Yeh. I did construction. I was makin' like $130 a week.
Me: Did you save money?
Bosh: Yeh. A little.
Me: How much?
Bosh:  Like $300
Me: Where are you gonna get the other $600?
Bosh: My girl's father would hook me up.
Me: That's cool. Y'all been together a long time?
Bosh: Like a month.
Me: And her dad's gonna hook you up with $600 to move here?
Bosh: Yeh. Definitely. He likes me a lot.

I haven't heard from Bosh since...