Micheal Oluwaseun Eric (born June 24, 1988) is a Nigerian 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

Taipei Taishin Mars The Taipei Taishin Mars ( zh, 臺北台新戰神) are a Taiwanese professional basketball team based in Taipei City. They have competed in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) and play their home games at the Taipei Heping Basketball ...

of the

Taiwan Professional Basketball League The Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL, zh, 台灣職業籃球大聯盟) is a professional basketball List of basketball leagues, league in Taiwan composed of 7 teams. It is the fourth Taiwanese professional basketball league after the ...

(TPBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Lagos, Nigeria 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 ...

, Eric did not play basketball as a youth as his dad was a soccer coach and he liked to focus on his education. Despite basketball being a popular sport in Nigeria, he dismissed the sport until he grew five inches in a span of two years. He traveled to Delaware in 2004 to visit his brother, Stephen, who wouldn't let him return to Nigeria. Stephen knew with his younger brother's height – he was 6-foot-8 at the time – he could make a future for himself in basketball. Newly arrived in the United States, Eric enrolled at

Caesar Rodney High School Caesar Rodney High School is a public high school located in Camden, Delaware, just south of Dover. The school is in Caesar Rodney School District. Its enrollment is over 2,000. During 1983 to 1984, Caesar Rodney was recognized as a Blue Ribb ...

Camden, Delaware Camden is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover metropolitan area. The population was 3,715 in 2020. History Camden was established in 1783 as a community originally known as Mifflin's Crossroads. The community ...

where he spent his sophomore year before transferring to Church Farm School in

Exton, Pennsylvania Exton is a census-designated place (CDP) in West Whiteland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 5,622 at the 2020 census. The Exton Square Mall and Main Street at Exton are both located within Exton alon ...

for his junior year.

High school career

Eric played two seasons at Church Farm as he earned first-team all-league and all-area as a junior and senior. As a junior in 2005–06, he averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks per game. In November 2006, Eric signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play

for

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. As a senior in 2006–07, Eric averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game while leading Church Farm to the KASC regular season championship.

College career

To Eric's disappointment, he was ruled ineligible to compete in 2007–08 due to NCAA initial eligibility guidelines, forcing him to redshirt the season. He went on to join the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

in 2008–09 where he averaged 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 27 games. As a sophomore in 2009–10, Eric played in 31 games, starting 29, as he finished fifth on the team in scoring with 5.9 points per game. In addition, his 20 blocks and .516 field goal percentage ranked second on the team. He also averaged 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in just 15.7 minutes per game. As a junior in 2010–11, Eric was named the team co-captain. He started the first 24 games of season before fracturing his right patella in practice which sidelined him for remainder of season. he averaged 7.1 points and 1.6 blocks, as well as ranking second on team with 5.9 rebounds per game and third with .490 field goal percentage. As a senior in 2011–12, Eric again missed significant time with another right patella fracture, sitting out all of December and most of January with the injury. He played in 19 games, starting 15 times, as he was first on the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and fifth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg). He tied his career-high with 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds against UMass on February 29, 2012.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball A ...

, Eric joined the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On August 10, 2012, he signed with the Cavaliers but was later waived on October 27, 2012. In November 2012, he was acquired by the Canton Charge of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

as an affiliate player. In July 2013, Eric joined the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

for the Orlando Summer League and the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

for the Las Vegas Summer League. On November 1, 2013, he was reacquired by the Canton Charge. Three days later, he was traded to the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

. On January 15, 2014, he was waived by the Legends due to a season-ending injury. On September 27, 2014, Eric signed with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. However, he was later waived by the Bucks on October 27, 2014. On December 4, 2014, he signed with Panelefsiniakos of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

and made his debut for the team on December 13. However, the next day, he signed with Enel Brindisi of Italy for the rest of the 2014–15 season, replacing Cedric Simmons in the line-up after the forward suffered a season-ending knee injury. In July 2015, Eric joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...

. On October 31, Eric returned to the Texas Legends. He was waived by the Legends on November 11, and reacquired on November 20. On January 29, 2016, he was named in the West All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game. At the season's end, he earned NBA D-League All-Defensive Team honors. On April 5, 2016, Eric signed with

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

of Greece for the rest of the 2015–16 Greek Basket League season. In July 2016, Eric joined the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On August 7, 2016, he signed with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. T ...

of Spain for the 2016–17 season. On July 18, 2017, Eric signed with the Turkish club Darüşşafaka for the 2017–18 season. On July 9, 2019, Eric signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Kirolbet Baskonia. He averaged 7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. That season, Eric won the Liga Endesa with Saski Baskonia. On July 7, 2020, Eric parted ways with the team. He signed with

Türk Telekom Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. () is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995. Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wideband I ...

of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

on July 15. On February 10, 2021, Eric signed with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

for the rest of the 2020–21 season.He reached Final Four and won the VTB League. On June 16, 2021, Eric officially parted ways with the Russian club. On August 9, 2021, he has signed with Unicaja Málaga of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

. Eric suffered a season-ending ruptured ACL injury on January 26, 2022. On January 13, 2023, Eric returned to

. He reached Eurocup Finals against Gran Canaria. On June 21, 2023, he mutually parted ways with the Turkish club once again. On July 28, 2023, Eric has agreed to play in South Korea for Suwon KT Sonicboom of

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

. In October 2024, Eric joined Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya. On November 8, Eric signed with the

of the

(TPBL).

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Darüşşafaka , 29 , , 20 , , 20.3 , , .540 , , , , .656 , , 5.0 , , .9 , , .3 , , .9 , , 11.1 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Baskonia , style="background:#CFECEC;", 28* , , 22 , , 15.0 , , .552 , , , , .457 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .8 , , .6 , , 5.7 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 9 , , 12.4 , , .667 , , , , .700 , , 3.3 , , .2 , , .6 , , .5 , , 5.4 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 71 , , 51 , , 16.6 , , .631 , , , , .599 , , 3.8 , , .5 , , .5 , , .7 , , 7.8 , , 7.3

References

External links

FIBA profileTemple bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eric, Micheal 1988 births Living people AEK B.C. players Baloncesto Málaga players Bilbao Basket players Canton Charge players Centers (basketball) Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Liga ACB players New Basket Brindisi players Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Spain Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Panelefsiniakos B.C. players PBC CSKA Moscow players Saski Baskonia players Basketball players from Lagos Temple Owls men's basketball players Texas Legends players Suwon KT Sonicboom players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate basketball people in South Korea Al Ahli Tripoli basketball players Türk Telekom B.K. players Halcones Rojos Veracruz players Taipei Taishin Mars players Taiwan Professional Basketball League imports 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen