Olumuyiwa "Olu" Famutimi (born February 21, 1984) is a Canadian 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

Scarborough Shooting Stars The Scarborough Shooting Stars are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in the eastern ...

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). He played college basketball for

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Early life

Famutimi is of Nigerian descent. He was first noticed in a high school game at

Chaminade College School Chaminade College School (CCS, Chaminade) is an all-boys Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Founded by the Archdiocese of Toronto, Chaminade College School opened its doors in September 1965. Initially under the con ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, in his freshman year. Less than a year later, he transferred to

Flint Northwestern High School Flint Northwestern High School was a high school in Flint, Michigan, United States that served grades nine through twelve. It was part of Flint Community Schools and opened in 1964. In July 2018, the campus was repurposed as Flint Junior High Sc ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. In Michigan, he played for the Flint Northwestern Wildcats and climbed the national ranks as the seventh best player in the country, according to

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

. A career altering injury would change all of that, as he was ushered out of the limelight because of it.

Collegiate career

Famutimi played two seasons at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, where he earned All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Freshman honors. In 57 games with the Razorbacks, he averaged 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game. Against all odds, he declared early for the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

and was not selected.

Professional career

Famutimi was invited to training camp with 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 ...

and made appearances in four preseason games (4.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg) before being waived. He played 47 games for the

Arkansas RimRockers The Arkansas RimRockers were a minor league basketball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas, which played in the American Basketball Association and the NBA Development League. Season by season Franchise history The RimRockers began play ...

in 2005–06 and averaged 6.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game while shooting .513 (122–238) from the field. Famutimi signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

as a free agent in 2006 but was waived before the season started. He played in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

for two years and also played in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. On December 17, 2013, Famutimi signed with the

Halifax Rainmen The Halifax Rainmen were a professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the Atlantic Division of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) and their home games took place at the Scotiabank Centre, form ...

of the

NBL Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franch ...

. After a one-year stint with the

Island Storm The Island Storm is an inactive Canadian professional basketball team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada that began play in the 2011–12 season. The Storm plays ...

, Famutimi signed with the

Saint John Mill Rats The Saint John Riptide were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Saint John, New Brunswick, that had home games at Harbour Station. They were a member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada) in the Atlantic Division ...

on March 14, 2016. On August 18, 2016, Famutimi signed with

Quilmes de Mar del Plata Club Atlético Quilmes (mostly known as Quilmes de Mar del Plata) is a sports club based in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Although other sports are practised in the club, Quilmes is mostly known for its basketball team, which c ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Básquet Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

. In October 2016, he parted ways with Quilmes after appearing in ten games. On November 3, 2016, he signed with Saint John Riptide for the

2016–17 NBL Canada season The 2016–17 NBL Canada season was the sixth season of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC). League changes The league added two teams for 2016–17: the Cape Breton Highlanders (basketball), Cape Breton Highlanders in Sydney, Nova Sco ...

. He played the

2019 CEBL season The 2019 CEBL season was the inaugural season of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. It included six teams: Saskatchewan, Fraser Valley, Edmonton, Hamilton, Niagara, and Guelph. The regular season ran from May 9, 2019 to August 15, 2019, and th ...

for the Guelph Nighthawks. Famutimi joined the

KW Titans KW Titans (formally known as Kitchener-Waterloo Titans Basketball Club) are a professional basketball team based in Regional Municipality of Waterloo that competes in the Basketball Super League. The team plays its home games at Kitchener Memoria ...

in 2019. Famutimi joined the

Edmonton Stingers The Edmonton Stingers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the HIVE arena at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The Stingers' masc ...

for the 2021–22 BCL Americas. On May 12, 2022, Famutimi signed with the

of the CEBL.

International career

Famutimi plays internationally for the Canadian national team.

References

External links

*
French LNB profileTBLStat.net Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Famutimi, Olu 1984 births Living people Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Arkansas RimRockers players Basketball players from Toronto BC Khimik players Black Canadian basketball players Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate basketball people in France Canadian expatriate basketball people in Germany Canadian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Cape Breton Highlanders (basketball) players Edmonton Stingers players Guelph Nighthawks players Halifax Rainmen players KW Titans players Island Storm players McDonald's High School All-Americans Oyak Renault basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Metropolitans 92 players Quilmes de Mar del Plata basketball players Saint John Mill Rats players Saint John Riptide players Scarborough Shooting Stars players Shooting guards Small forwards TED Ankara Kolejliler players 2010 FIBA World Championship players