The more that is written about what transpired at Eastside High School in New Jersey, the clearer the picture is as to what was allowed to take place there. The Andrea Aquino story continues to see more light.
www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/04/hollow_promises_and_disposable_players_how_hs_hoop.html'THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME'
Andrea Aquino was treated like a curiosity in Caacupe, Paraguay, according to local coaches and an article on ESPN.com. She had sprouted to 6-foot-7 by the time she was 15, the tallest girl many in her small village had ever seen. Even adults gawked and teased her, the ESPN article said.
Those fortunes changed when a man in her neighborhood snapped photos of Aquino and sent them to the Paraguay Basketball Federation, which invited her to train alongside the country's finest players in the nation's capital. Once there, the mission began to crystallize. Aquino needed to get to the U.S., where she could develop her game, earn a college scholarship and potentially play professionally.
"She was treated like a freak because she was so tall," said a New Jersey coach familiar with Aquino who declined to be identified due to the delicacy of the situation. "Over there if you're that tall, you're like a monster. But over here, you're like a god."
Aquino made it to the U.S. after a Paterson resident named Felix Ayala discovered her playing on ESPN, according to an internal school report obtained by NJ Advance Media.
"He was very intrigued and impressed with her level and quality of skills and wanted to speak more in depth with her and her family about the opportunity of a lifetime," the report said.
In April 2015, the teenager moved to New Jersey, using a visa issued for a New York-based private school, the document said. Ayala promised to be the point of contact and to "make sure Andrea has everything that she needs," the report said. Ayala also told people he was related to Aquino, and the ESPN article refers to Aquino having a cousin in New Jersey.
After starting high school that spring, Aquino, who now stands 6-9, joined the powerhouse New Jersey Sparks AAU program. Some of the Sparks' coaches also are on the Eastside girls staff.
Jio Fontan, a former Sparks coach and now the head coach at Queen of Peace High, said he worked closely with Aquino early in her New Jersey stay.
"She didn't know any English, so I just kind of guided her through that," Fontan said. "I would just meet her at the gym and work out from there and take her to her game if need be. I didn't really get into her family situation or where she was staying."
But Aquino's living situation deteriorated soon after she was brought to Paterson, according to coaches and the school report. She lacked spending money, health insurance, winter supplies and even women's sanitary items, the report and other sources said.
Her stay with Ayala did not last long, according to coaches and the report, even though he is still listed as her guardian on school documents. "No, I'm not her legal guardian," Ayala said when reached by phone earlier this year. "You gotta call her coach and whoever. I would call the school about that."
In the fall of 2015, officials from her high school filed a report to the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency (formerly the Department of Youth and Family Services). The report painted a grim picture of an emotionally distressed and helpless teenager, thousands of miles from home.
"Felix had problems in his household, and after that, that girl went from place to place," said a coach familiar with the events in Aquino's life that fall. "Nobody wanted to spend the money once she got here. That's room and board, she has to eat and that takes money. So these guys got her over here and then everybody dropped the ball on her."
Aquino was moved to a Prospect Park apartment with a district employee, an arrangement that "was supposed to last a couple weeks." But the player stayed several months, and it was Lyde -- the Eastside girls coach -- who provided money for school uniforms and other living expenses, according to the employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of punishment from Paterson officials.
The turmoil weighed on Aquino, who confided in a teacher in 2015, according to the school report.
"As a result of the information that Andrea has shared, it is evident that Andrea may be the victim of neglect, child exploitation, emotional abuse and child endangerment," the report reads. "This is her cry for help."
Today, nearly two years after arriving in Paterson, Aquino's living situation has steadied, according to school officials.
She appears to be living in the home owned by Shirley Jordan where the Nigerian players also stayed; NJ Advance Media observed Aquino leave the home and head to school the morning of March 21. The Jordans have declined multiple requests for interviews, but Aquino appears to be well clothed, well cared for and her social media accounts suggest she is adjusting to life as an American teenager.
Aquino, now 18, also has blossomed on the court and will debut this month in ESPN's national Top 10 player rankings for the Class of 2018, according to Dan Olson, a girls basketball recruiting analyst. And she announced on social media late last month that she verbally has committed to Oregon State, a Top 10 Division 1 program.
Meanwhile, the adults linked to Aquino -- Ayala, Lyde, Sparks founder Shane Gerald and Sparks coach Keith Gilchrist -- have not responded to numerous phone calls and text messages asking about the player.
Olson, the recruiting analyst, said he watched Aquino play twice in January and marveled over her agility for a player of her size. He called her a "no-misser" talent-wise, but said "my heart goes out to the kid."
"Here I am sitting there watching her. I could have done something to help that kid," Olson continued. "I would have been able to pull names out of a hat pretty quick to be able to get her in the right direction. But how do you know?"
