Oluseyi Ashaolu (born April 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-Canadian

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. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

, Ashaolu played college basketball at Louisiana Tech and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

College career

Ashaolu lived in Brampton until 2004, when he made the move to Atlanta for grade 9, to play high school basketball stateside. 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. Ashaolu averaged 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a junior. He earned his bachelor's degree in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

in 2011 and decided he did not want to be part of the rebuilding effort under rookie head coach Michael White. On May 24, 2011, Ashaolu announced his transfer to

, choosing the Ducks over

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

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. Ashaolu was relegated to a bench role as a senior, but did not mind the decreased minutes. He averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his only season at Oregon.

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Ashaolu was not drafted 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 ...

. However, he did sign 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 ...

in the 2012 Summer League. On August 22, 2012 he signed with

Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto, also named as Cáceres Patrimonio de la Humanidad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It plays in the LEB Oro, the second in importance in Spain after A ...

of the Spanish league. He was picked up by Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix of Japan's

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official ...

in 2014. After helping Hamamatsu capture a title in May 2015, Ashaolu joined Osaka Evessa. Ashaolu signed with the Phoenix, now renamed

San-en NeoPhoenix The are a Japanese professional basketball team based in the eastern Mikawa Province, Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan, that competes in the B.League. The team was founded in 1965, as the company team of the OSG ...

, in August 2016. 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 The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by Manila North Tollways Corporation, NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014 ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

in June 2018. 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. 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. On June 30, 2020, Ashaolu signed with the Fraser Valley Bandits of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL; ) is the premier men's professional basketball league in Canada, as recognized by Canada Basketball. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams all owned and operated by owner ...

(CEBL). On May 17, 2021, Ashaolu signed with Niagara River Lions of the CEBL. In November 2021, Ashaolu signed with the Alaska Aces for his third stint in the

. 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.

References

External links

NBADraft.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashaolu, Olu 1988 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Black Canadian basketball players Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Canadian expatriate basketball people in South Korea Canadian men's basketball players Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Vancouver Bandits players Goyang Sono Skygunners players Guelph Nighthawks players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball players Niagara River Lions players Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian emigrants to Canada NLEX Road Warriors players Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Osaka Evessa players Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards San-en NeoPhoenix players Sendai 89ers players Basketball players from Brampton Basketball players from Lagos St. John's Edge players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Expatriate basketball people in Uruguay 21st-century Canadian sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen