Martins Igbanu

Martins Igbanu (born April 12, 1997) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for Niigata Albirex BB of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Martins Igbanu
No. 9 – Niigata Albirex BB
PositionSmall forward
LeagueB.League
Personal information
Born (1997-04-12) April 12, 1997
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolCovenant Christian Ministries Academy
(Marietta, Georgia)
CollegeTulsa (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Mladost Zemun
2021Denain Voltaire Basket
2021–2022Rouen Métropole Basket
2022Caen Basket Calvados
2022–2023BC Boncourt
2023–presentNiigata Albirex BB
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-AAC (2020)
  • AAC Sixth Man of the Year (2020)

Early life and high school career

Igbanu grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and played soccer as a child. At the age of 14, he decided to try basketball and practiced every day at Rowe Park. When he was 15, Igbanu came to the United States and enrolled at Covenant Christian Ministries Academy in Marietta, Georgia. He initially felt homesick and was planning to travel back to Nigeria when his mother convinced him to stay longer.[1] As a senior, he averaged 19.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 block per game.[2] In September 2015, Igbanu committed to play at Tulsa over offers from Cincinnati, Iowa State and Tennessee.[3] "I wanted to go to a good school where I could play basketball and also receive the best education, like TU offers," he said.[4]

College career

Igbanu averaged 6.3 points and 4 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9 percent from the floor as a freshman. As a sophomore, he averaged 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting and 52.9 percent from the field.[5] Igbanu averaged 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a junior.[6] After struggling during nonconference play of his senior season, Igbanu began coming off the bench and his scoring improved.[1] On February 9, 2020, he scored a career-high 30 points in an 83–75 loss to UCF.[7] As a senior, Igbanu averaged 13.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.[8] He earned First Team All-American Athletic Conference as well as conference Sixth Man of the Year honors.[9]

Professional career

On September 16, 2020, Igbanu signed his first professional contract with Mladost Zemun of the Adriatic League and the Basketball League of Serbia.[10] He averaged 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game in the Serbian league. On July 9, 2021, Igbanu signed with Denain Voltaire Basket of the LNB Pro B.[11] On November 3, he signed with Rouen Métropole Basket.[12] Igbanu signed with Caen Basket Calvados of the Nationale Masculine 1 on January 3, 2022.[13]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Tulsa 321915.3.559.556.5894.0.3.2.36.3
2017–18 Tulsa 312322.5.529.286.7205.1.5.3.29.4
2018–19 Tulsa 323227.1.616.000.6615.7.7.6.312.5
2019–20 Tulsa 311226.6.561.333.6915.0.8.5.313.6
Career 1268622.9.570.333.6705.0.6.4.310.4

References
  1. Hines, Kelly (February 28, 2020). "TU basketball: For forward Martins Igbanu, a home away from home". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. "INTRODUCING … Martins Igbanu". Tulsa Golden Hurricane. July 7, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  3. Clark, Pam (September 16, 2015). "TU basketball: 6-8 forward Martins Igbanu commits to Tulsa". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. "Tulsa: A home away from home for Martins Igbanu". University of Tulsa. September 12, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. Lewis, Larry (October 31, 2019). "Ugboh and Igbanu: Iron sharpens iron". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. Hines, Kelly (October 30, 2019). "TU men host Rockhurst in exhibition". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  7. "C. Florida registers surprise beating Tulsa 83-75". ESPN. Associated Press. February 9, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  8. Igoe, Stephen (March 25, 2020). "Dooley gives his take on Gardner being left off first team". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  9. Hines, Kelly (March 11, 2020). "TU's Frank Haith named AAC coach of the year; Martins Igbanu named sixth man of the year". Tulsa World. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. "KK Mladost Z Admiral Zemun tabs rookie Martins Igbanu in his first year in pro basketball". Eurobasket. September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  11. "Denain inks Martins Igbanu". Eurobasket. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. "Martins Igbanu pigiste médical du RMB". Rouen Métropole Basket (in French). November 3, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  13. "Basket. Caen BC : Martins Igbanu, la bonne réputation". Ouest France (in French). Retrieved January 27, 2022.
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