Olu Ashaolu

Oluseyi Ashaolu (born April 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-Canadian basketball player. A 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) power forward, Ashaolu played college basketball at Louisiana Tech and Oregon.

Olu Ashaolu
Ashaolu shoots a free throw in January, 2013.
Free agent
PositionPower forward
Personal information
Born (1988-04-18) April 18, 1988
Lagos, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian / Canadian
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolChristian Life Center Academy
(Humble, Texas)
College
NBA draft2012: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2013Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto
2013–2014ALM Évreux Basket
2014–2015Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix
2015–2016Osaka Evessa
2016–2017San-en NeoPhoenix
2017–2018Sendai 89ers
2018NLEX Road Warriors
2019St. John's Edge
2019NLEX Road Warriors
2019Goyang Orion Orions
2020St. John's Edge
2020Fraser Valley Bandits
2021Niagara River Lions
2021–2022Alaska Aces
2022Niagara River Lions
2022Guelph Nighthawks
Career highlights and awards

College career

Ashaolu lived in Brampton until 2004, when he made the move to Atlanta for grade 9, to play high school basketball stateside.[1]

Ashaolu began his collegiate career at Louisiana Tech, where he averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a freshman. He improved those numbers to 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore.[2] Ashaolu averaged 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a junior.[3] He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 2011 and decided he did not want to be part of the rebuilding effort under rookie head coach Michael White.[4]

On May 24, 2011, Ashaolu announced his transfer to Oregon, choosing the Ducks over Texas, San Diego State and Xavier. Ashaolu took advantage of the graduate transfer rule and did not have to sit out the season as a redshirt. One of the reasons he joined Oregon was because his AAU teammate, Devoe Joseph, was on the squad.[3] Ashaolu was relegated to a bench role as a senior, but did not mind the decreased minutes.[4] He averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his only season at Oregon.[2]

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Ashaolu was not drafted in the 2012 NBA draft. However, he did sign with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2012 Summer League.[5] On August 22, 2012 he signed with Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto of the Spanish league.[6] He was picked up by Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix of Japan's bj league in 2014.[7] After helping Hamamatsu capture a title in May 2015, Ashaolu joined Osaka Evessa.[8]

Ashaolu signed with the Phoenix, now renamed San-en NeoPhoenix, in August 2016.[9] The following season, he moved to the Sendai 89ers. Ashaolu averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game but was hampered by a knee injury in November 2017.

He signed with the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association in June 2018.[10] Despite having a 70-percent tear on his knee, Ashaolu played through pain and scored 27 points against NorthPort Batang Pier. In August 2018, NLEX signed Aaron Fuller as his replacement to allow time for his injury to heal.[11]

On June 28, 2019, Olu Ashaolu debuts for the Road Warriors as he replaced Tony Mitchell as the team's import. Ashaolu recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists as he led the Road Warriors in their second win of the Commissioner's Cup as they beat the Rain O'Shine Elasto Painters.[12]

On June 30, 2020, Ashaolu signed with the Fraser Valley Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).[13] On May 17, 2021, Ashaolu signed with Niagara River Lions of the CEBL.[14]

In November 2021, Ashaolu signed with the Alaska Aces for his third stint in the Philippine Basketball Association.[15] On March 15, 2022, he was replaced by Mark St. Fort as the team's import for the quarterfinals of the 2021 PBA Governors' Cup as chronic injuries bothered Ashaolu for the whole conference.[16][17]

References
  1. Grange, Michael (5 March 2005). "Teen journeys south in search of his destiny". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  2. "Olu Ashaolu Bio". Oregon Ducks. University of Oregon.
  3. "Oregon lands Louisiana Tech transfer Olu Ashaolu". Sporting News. May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  4. Schnell, Lindsay (January 17, 2012). "Oregon Ducks basketball: Devoe Joseph says 'we need' transfer Olu Ashaolu to win". The Oregonian. OregonLive.com. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  5. "Ashaolu added to Bucks Summer League roster". KVAL.com. July 17, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  6. "Olu Ashaolu, Fuerza en la Pintura". CaceresBasket.com (in Spanish). August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  7. Odeven, Ed (May 19, 2015). "'Coach Crusher' likes Hamamatsu's chances going into Final Four". Japan Times. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  8. Odeven, Ed (October 29, 2015). "Oketani learning from former Chicago Bulls coach Cartwright". Japan Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  9. Odeven, Ed (August 25, 2016). "Osaka brings in Harrellson to help man the middle". Japan Times. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  10. Pamintuan, Carlo (June 27, 2018). "With eye on Governors' Cup, NLEX makes one last import change". ESPN. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  11. "PBA: NLEX to bring in ex-import as temporary replacement for injured Olu Ashaolu". ABS CBN News. August 19, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  12. "Ashaolu turns heads in debut as NLEX averts disaster for 2nd win". Rappler.com. June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  13. "FRASER VALLEY BANDITS SIGN OLU ASHAOLU". Fraser Valley Bandits. June 30, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  14. "River Lions Sign Power Forward Olu Ashaolu". RiverLions.ca. May 17, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. "TNT, Meralco, 3 others to introduce new imports". pba.ph. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  16. "Alaska brings in new import for do-or-die game vs NLEX". Spin.ph. March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  17. "Cariaso explains decision to replace Ashaolu with Saint Fort". Spin.ph. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
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