"Probe MU commitment to basketball"?
Is that code for: "How much you gonna pay me?" I would think Alden and the agent had already settled most of that.
Otherwise, what's that mean? I think given the fact MU has a fairly new arena and other nice facilities, and is willing to pay him a top-10 salary, shows quite a commitment to basketball.
Maybe he means, "You gonna let me cut some corners on recruiting?"