DC Assault’s Curtis Malone Charged In Drug Investigation

Per a report by the Washington City Paper, the face of famed DC Assault AAU basketball program, Curtis Malone, has been arrested and charged as part of an ongoing DEA investigation. Malone was arrested last Friday in his home after agents found a kilo of cocaine and a handgun in his home.

Malone has been the face of the DC Assault program for nearly 20 years, building it into a national powerhouse during his stint as the head man. DC Assault and

Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

the Maryland Terrapins have been pretty closely linked as of late, with both Terp commits Roddy Peters (2013) and Romelo Trimble (2014) having played their AAU ball with the team. A recruiting pipeline of sorts was beginning to develop between Maryland and DC Assault, but now that is probably going to come into question. Big time. Recruits could start looking to play elsewhere, and without many fostered relationships at those programs, Maryland could find themselves having to work pretty hard on the trail once again.

There’s no telling what this will do for recruiting, as any time an organization loses a person who is synonymous with the brand itself, there will probably be a transition period. AAU organizations appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, but it’s rare one as prominent as DC Assault would fade away that fast. They have been a staple in the area since I’ve been alive, but controversy like this can bring down anything.

It’s probably most upsetting for the players themselves, who quite obviously look up to Malone as a mentor of sorts. To have a guy who helped so many players achieve their dreams of playing college basketball go down like this must be upsetting. A brand that was once viewed with pride just got a little less appealing.