How Being Overlooked Helps You Make It – With Ovie Soko – Ep. 25

By Sam Neter on December 12, 2016

Mansoor Ahmed/Ahmedphotos

For our quarter century episode of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sat down GB and UCAM Murcia forward Ovie Soko.

Soko is in the midst of an impressive season in Spain, competing in both the ACB and Eurocup, and is another of the most talented players to come out of England in recent years.

In this hour plus episode hear from Ovie on:

How his season in Spain is going so far and the transition to the ACB
His love for the passion of Greek fans
Not playing in the Eurobasket 2017 qualifiers this summer
His hopes to play Great Britain next summer at Eurobasket
Coming up in England as an unknown
Why not getting any love coming up helps drive him and keep him humbled
How his move to Hampton Roads Academy in Virginia came about
Why he chose to leave Hampton and head to Bethel for his Senior year after watching the State finals
How he played games and scrimmages all the time when he first moved to the US
Being the nationally ranked 25th small forward in High School
Not letting other people’s opinions make or break you
Why he feels he will always have a chip on his shoulder
The recruitment process and why he chose to go to UAB
Why number of High Major schools wanted him to go to Prep School for year and how that made him feel
How he originally thought he was a two year player in college and would head to the NBA after his Sophomore year
The experience under Coach Mike Davis at UAB
Why he chose to transfer to Duquesne after his Junior year
The frustration of having to sit out for a year and his mindset going into it
The difference for kids coming up now compared to when Ovie did in terms of access to facilities
Why he felt slighted by not getting a call up for GB earlier
Why if it wasn’t for Coach Joe Prunty he wouldn’t consider playing for GB
The politics of professional basketball
Why he chose to sign in Pro B in France for his rookie year
His growth and maturity over the years both on and off the court
Why he feels now he is in his best mental state to optimally perform
His unwavering belief in himself
His hopes for life after basketball
And much, much more!

As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.

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