With the college basketball season once again in full swing, it’s time to begin our weekly check in with how Brits are getting on in NCAA Division 1.
Gabe Olaseni | Iowa | Senior | Centre
Olaseni has played a crucial role for the Hawkeyes in their opening three games at the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden, where his team eventually fell in the semi-finals to No. 10 Texas.
In their season opener, a 90-56 crushing of Hampton, Olaseni had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks in just 20 minutes on 3/6 shooting. He followed it up with his best game of the young season; 14 points (all in the second half), 11 rebounds, 2 blocks on 4/6 shooting in 17 minutes in win over North Dakota State for the fifth double double of his career.
Then, in the loss to Texas, he had 2 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists before getting ejected for a Flagrant-2 (Prince Ibeh had 2 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 9 minutes).
Seattle University, the only roster in the US College system that can boast four brits (though one, Aaron Menzies, is redshirting) has split its first two games, with Jack Crook in particular standing out.
In their opening 62-53 loss to Texas State, Crook had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in 25 minutes, Shore Adenekan had an assist, a rebound and a block in 8 minutes, while Theo Turner registered a DNP. In their second game, a 98-74 win over Nebraska Omaha, Crook had a 12 point, 13 rebound double double, along with 3 assists and a block, Adenekan had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Theo Turner had a rebound in 4 minutes of play.
UC Irvine, with GB U20 backcourt Luke Nelson and Alex Young started their season at 2-0 before falling to Arizona on Wednesday. In the opener, Nelson had 18 points and 3 assists on 7/9 shooting, while Young had 8 and 2 steals on 4/7 shooting. In their second game, a victory over Pacific, Alex Young stepped up with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, while Nelson had 7 and 3 assists.
Against Arizona, Nelson had 11 and 6 assists but struggled with his shot, going 4/14, while Young had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
After sitting a year following his transfer from VCU, Teddy Okereafor has been thrust into a starting role with Rider, and has produced for his side who has split their opening two games. In their opener, a loss to Princeton, he had 16 points and 4 assists in 36 minutes, and followed that up with a quieter 2 point, 4 rebound, 3 assist game in 27 minutes.
Kingsely Okoroh has seen double digit minutes in all three of Cal’s opening wins – that have put them in the 2K Classic championship final on Friday night. The Freshman’s best performance came in their last game, as they took no. 23 Syracuse’s scalp, as Okoroh had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block on 2/4 shooting in 18 minutes.
CSU Bakersfield have opened the season 0-3, with Abdul Ahmed seeing double digit minutes in every game. His best performance was in the opener where he had 9 points on 3/3 shooting from the field and 3/3 at the line, along with 2 rebounds and 5 assists.
Jamie Batish’s Western Illinois are also still looking for their first win, at 0-2, as Batish had 9 and 10 points respectively in the starting guard spot.
Chris Caird has had a solid start to the season with Drake, having 8 points on 3/4 shooting in their opening victory, 8 points on 3/5 shooting in their second game, and exploded for 19 points and 4 assists in an 80-62 loss to DePaul.
Jesse Chuku is back in action in a starting role with LeHigh, having 6 points 7 rebounds and 7 points 5 rebounds in their opening two losses.
Former England U18 Grant Fiorentinos is seeing around 15 minutes a game in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s first three games, having 7 rebounds in one and a 6 point, 3 rebound 2 assist game in another.
Anyone we missed that deserves a mention? Let us know in the comments!
Watch over 700 NCAA basketball fixtures LIVE and on-demand with ESPN Player at espnplayer.com
Image Credit: Brian Ray/hawkeyesports.com
Pingback: Teddy Okereafor Scores Career High 29pts to Lead Rider University to Victory — Hoopsfix.com