Four Nigerian players enters 2005 NBA Draft

Among the candidates are four young Nigerian players who have distinguished their career at the college level have applied for Draft.

The players include sophomore Deji Akindele from Chicago State University, junior student Kelena Azubuike from University of Kentucky, junior student Ike Diogu from Arizona University and sophomore Olu Famutimi from Arkansas University.

Deji Akindele Named as the Mid-Continent Conference Defensive Player of the Year this past season, led the Mid-Con in blocked shots and third in rebounding and third in shooting percentage, Chicago State University sophomore 7-foot-1 Nigerian-born center Deji Akindele decided to declare for the 2005 NBA Draft.

I'm ready for this challenge and I'm interested in testing the waters and showing my ability to the NBA,Akindele said. Chicago State head men basketball Coach Kevin Jones is excited for Akindele's opportunity, but is hopeful he'll return to Chicago State.
 
It is good for Deji to test the waters and use this opportunity as a measuring stick to see where he stands, Jones said. This is a win-win for Deji and for the school because of the exposure this opportunity will bring, but I'm hopeful at the end of the process, he will return for next season.

Akindele recently submitted the paperwork necessary to make his intentions to enter the NBA Draft and he will now get the chance to work out for NBA scouts, so he can test his market value and see if he is first round draft pick. Players selected in the first round receive guaranteed contracts, while second round selections are not assured of receiving guaranteed money.

The university as well as the basketball program has made me a better person, a better basketball player, a better student, and most of all, made me grow up and mature in a short period of time from the basketball aspect, Akindele said. That is the reason I feel confident to put my name in for the upcoming NBA draft and test my market value.

Akindele, who is an undecided major, said that should he decide to remain in this year NBA draft, he would make sure to continue and complete is education. He has two years of eligibility left entering the 2005-06 school year.

He played in 60 games in two seasons with the Cougars and he is first all-time in blocked shots at CSU and eighth all-time in Mid-Con history in blocked shots with 132 swats. Over two seasons, he averaged 9.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game and shot 57 percent from the field.

As a sophomore this past season, he averaged 12 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and blocked a single-season school record 70 shots and ranked 21st in the final NCAA statistics with an average of 2.5 blocked shots per game.
Underclassmen have until May 14 to declare for the NBA Draft, but they can remove their names up until June 21 and retain their eligibility if they have signed with an agent. Akindele said he has no plans to hire an agent.

Kelenna Azubuike The Nigerian-born Kelena Azubuike, a 6-5 guard/forward, voted to the second team All-Southeastern Conference honors by both The Associated Press and the league's coaches this season submitted his name to the National Basketball Association (NBA) for its June draft and will not return for his senior season. Also named to the SEC All-Tournament team after averaging 18 points in three games, Azubuike led Kentucky in scoring this season, averaging 14.7 points and added 4.7 rebounds, which ranked second on the squad. "I have submitted my name into the 2005 NBA Draft and I have signed with an agent," Azubuike said.

"I know all the implications of signing with an agent. I believe I am ready and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get better before the draft. I want to make it clear that this is my decision but my family is solidly behind me. "I want to thank Coach Smith for the opportunity and everything he has done for me over my career at UK. I have truly enjoyed this experience."

Azubuike accumulated an 87-15 record during his three years at Kentucky, capturing two Southeastern Conference titles and two SEC Tournament titles. He's helped Kentucky to two NCAA Elite Eight appearances, including this season.
"Kelenna has been a model student-athlete and will be sorely missed," Coach Tubby Smith said. The NBA Draft is set for June 28. Azubuike is the first underclassman at Kentucky to declare early for the draft since Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince tested the waters in the spring of 2001.

Ike Diogu The Arizona State University All-American forward, Ike Diogu entered his name in the 2005 NBA Draft but plans to keep his NCAA eligibility options open. Diogu has scored 1,946 points in his 91-game career (21.4 points per game).
He already is ASU's third all-time leading scorer and is 19th on the Pac-10 career list. The Associated Press, the USBWA, the NABC and Basketball Times named him a second-team All-American. "Ike is so talented that it is obvious that he needs to explore his options at this time, and the NBA has a very good program to help him, " said Arizona State head coach Rob Evans. "Arizona State is behind him and we are going to do whatever Ike feels is best for him and his family, and that includes but is not limited to gathering all the information that is available to him regarding his draft status." "I want to declare for the NBA Draft, leaving my options open without having an agent," said Diogu, the 2005 Pac-10 Player of the Year. Diogu does not plan to attend any of the NBA Draft camps but will participate in private workouts for NBA teams. He led the Pac-10 in scoring (22.6 ppg.), rebounding (9.8 rpg.) and blocks (2.34 bpg.), the first Pac-10 player to lead the league in all three categories. He played 13 40-minute games on the year. The Garland, Texas, native has scored in double digits in all 91 games of his career. He made 248 free throws on the year, breaking his own Pac-10 record of 243 sets last year.

Olu Famutimi In 2001, Olu Famutimi was on the verge of making Canadian basketball history by becoming the first Canadian high school player to make the jump straight from high school to the league.

Unfortunately, an ACL injury kept him from taking that enormous leap. He however forward the clock to 2005 and it seems like the Nigerian-born player has fully recovered from his high school injuries and is confident enough that he can play in the NBA.

Olu decided to add his name to the list of top prospects in this year's NBA draft. He played his first season at full potential averaging a decent 9.8 points per game, 4.2 rebounds while shooting 43.8 from the field.

Many believe that Olu is simply testing the market with hopes of getting his name out to NBA scouts; smartly enough, Olu has not hired an agent and therefore has until June 21st to remove his name from the list and return to Arkansas where he has two years left of eligibility. Born to Nigerian parent, Yemi and Margret Famutimi, as a senior, he earned McDonald's and Parade All-America honors after averaging 25.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He also earned all-city, all state and MVP honours for Coach David Bush. As a junior, Famutimi, who grew up in Toronto, Ontario, averaged 23.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocked shots, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals a game.

In seven AAU tournaments prior to his senior season, he was named MVP three times and he tied Kobe Bryant record with 40 points in the ABCD Adidas All-American Camp All-Star Game. At Rick Barrett Annual Gym Rats Midnight Madness at Cherry Hill, N.J., in September 2002, he had 37 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

In 2003/04, he started 13 of 27 games and finished fourth on the team in scoring (7.0) and rebounding (3.5) in earning honourable mention freshman All-America honours from Rivals.com and making the all-freshman team. He led the team in scoring once and in rebounding five times, and was in double-digits scoring seven times.

Over the last three games of the year, he averaged 9.0 points a game. Named the team most improved player last year, he put up better numbers over the last half of the season than he did the first.