Aidan Harris Igiehon (born 17 August 2000) is an Irish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the Dublin Lions of the National League. He played

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for the

Abilene Christian Wildcats Abilene Christian Wildcats (variously ACU or ACU Wildcats) refers to the sports teams of Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the pre ...

, the

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and the

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. Igiehon attended

Lawrence Woodmere Academy Lawrence Woodmere Academy, also known as "LWA", and "Woodmere Academy", is an independent school located in Woodmere, New York, United States. It is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the New York State Boa ...

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, where he was a four-star recruit and won three state championships.

Early life

Igiehon was born in the

Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital The Coombe Hospital (; ) is a voluntary teaching hospital providing a range of medical services to both women and newborn infants in Dublin, Ireland. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. History Former Meath Hospital building The h ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland and grew up in the nearby suburb of

Clondalkin Clondalkin () is a suburban village in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, approximately west of Dublin city centre. It is within the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin County Council, South Dublin. Clondalkin is also the na ...

. Until he was 12 years old, he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. At that age, he played basketball for the first time and stood . In 2012, Igiehon was introduced to basketball by Dublin Lions coach Mick White, who noticed Igiehon and his friend kicking around a football outside

Moyle Park College Moyle Park College is a secondary school in Clondalkin, South Dublin, Ireland. History The school was established by the Marist Brothers in 1957, and grew alongside the population of the local area. As of the 2017 school year, no more Marist ...

. White, who was holding under-13 tryouts and needed extra players, invited Igiehon and was impressed by him. Igiehon soon joined the Lions, with whom he learned how to play basketball and quickly improved his game. He also grew about by the following year. In addition, Igiehon played basketball for Moyle Park College, leading his team to an All-Ireland final. In the summer of 2014, he moved to the United States to enroll at

, a

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Woodmere, New York Woodmere is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 18,669 at the 2020 census. Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, wh ...

, as an eighth-grader. Igiehon's mother remained in Ireland, while he began living with his aunt and uncle in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He became a starter on his school's varsity basketball team in eighth grade.

High school

Igiehon played high school basketball for Lawrence Woodmere Academy under head coach Jeff Weiss. Both Weiss and Karim Shabazz, a school

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teacher and former professional basketball player, helped him adjust to living in the United States. Igiehon sometimes returned to Ireland to meet his mother and play for the Dublin Lions. In his freshman season, he averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds per game, leading his team to a 20-win season. Igiehon also played for the New York Lightning

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(AAU) team. In his sophomore season, he averaged 21.5 points and 15 rebounds per game, helping his team to

Private Schools Athletic Association Established in 1986, the Private Schools Athletic Association (PSAA) is a sports league for independent high schools primarily located in the New York Metropolitan Area. Mission * Develop and foster athletic standards of excellence for boys and gi ...

(PSAA) and

New York State Association of Independent Schools The New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) is an association of 204 independent schools and organizations, ranging from nurseries to high schools, in New York (state), New York State. Founded in 1947, NYSAIS is the second la ...

(NYSAIS) Class B titles. Igiehon earned PSAA

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

(MVP) and Class B tournament MVP honors. Following the season, he played for the New York Lightning on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

(EYBL) circuit, averaging 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Igiehon missed most of December in his junior season with an ankle injury. He averaged 21 points and 18 rebounds per game, leading Lawrence Woodmere Academy to a 20–6 record, a New York State Federation Tournament appearance, and an NYSAIS Class B championship. After the season, Igiehon made his

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Association debut with Team Rio, playing alongside five-star recruits

Bryan Antoine Bryan Antoine (born April 26, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for Pelister of the Macedonian League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats and Radford Highlanders. High school career A resident with his fami ...

and Scottie Lewis. He averaged 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. On October 19, 2018, Igiehon committed to play college basketball for

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

over

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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and St. John's. He was considered a four-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

and

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, and

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ranked him as the 36th-best player in the 2019 class. On February 24, 2019, Igiehon led Lawrence Woodmere Academy to a second straight NYSAIS Class B title and third consecutive NYSAIS championship. He also helped his team reach the Federation Tournament Class B semifinals. After averaging 26 points and 18 rebounds per game and guiding his team to a 22–2 record, Igiehon received ''

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'' All-USA New York first team recognition.

College career

Igiehon did not see much playing time as a freshman at

, partially due to an injured shoulder. As a sophomore, he was limited to five games due to a groin injury and an illness. After the season, Igiehon transferred to

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile (). The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...

. Igiehon spent his senior season at Abilene Christian.

Professional career

Igiehon went undrafted in the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

. He returned to Ireland where he joined the Dublin Lions of the second-tier National League.

Career statistics

College

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, 5 , , 0 , , 8.2 , , .714 , , – , , .375 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .667 , , – , , .375 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.4

Personal life

Both of Igiehon's parents are originally from

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria. In 2000, his mother Nibokun Omoruyi moved to Ireland, where she raised Igiehon and his older brother Brandon. In 2016, Brandon began playing

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

soccer for the

State University of New York at Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or simply Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam (village), New York, Potsdam, New York, United States. Founded in 1816, it is the northernmost member of the State University of New Yo ...

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Igiehon, Aidan 2000 births Living people Centers (basketball) Irish expatriate basketball people in the United States Irish men's basketball players Irish people of Nigerian descent Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Lawrence Woodmere Academy alumni People from Clondalkin Sportspeople from South Dublin (county) Power forwards Sportspeople from Dublin (city) 21st-century Irish sportsmen