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Babatunde Akingbola
Year: 2019
Position: C
Height: 6-10
Hometown: Ogun, Nigeria
High School: John McEachern HS (Powder Springs, GA)
AAU Team: Athletes of Tomorrow (GA)
Offers (out of high school): Auburn, Georgia Tech, NC State, Rutgers, South Florida, Tulane
Eligibility: Immediately eligible, two years to play* ([url= ,eligible%20at%20his%20next%20stop.]based on this 247Sports article[/url])
Statistics:
(from Senior year at Auburn) - 0.3 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.3 spg, 0.3 bpg; 50% FT per 3.8 mpg with 4 GP
(from Junior year at Auburn) - 0.3 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.5 bpg; 17% FG per 3.3 mpg with 6 GP
(from Sophomore year at Auburn) - 1.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.9 bpg; 48% FG, 25% 3-PT, 35% FT per 10.9 mpg with 27 GP
(from Freshman year at Auburn) - 0.2 ppg, 0.3 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.4 bpg; 25% FG per 2.5 mpg with 13 GP
Notable Performances (against D1 competition):
11/12/19 vs. South Alabama: 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 blocks; 0-1 FG in 4 minutes (freshman year at Auburn)
11/25/19 vs. New Mexico: 2 rebounds, 2 blocks in 4 minutes (freshman year at Auburn)
11/26/20 vs. St. Joe's: 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 blocks; 2-3 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-5 FT in 26 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
11/27/20 vs. #1 Gonzaga: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block; 2-3 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 0-1 FT in 18 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
12/12/20 vs. Memphis: 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block; 1-2 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT in 16 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
12/19/20 vs. Troy: 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 block; 2-3 FG, 1-2 FT in 12 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
12/30/20 vs. Arkansas: 2 points, 1 rebound, 3 blocks; 1-1 FG in 12 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
1/13/21 @ Georgia: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks; 2-3 FG, 0-1 3-PT in 16 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
1/20/21 @ Arkansas: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks; 1-1 FG in 10 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
1/26/21 vs. #21 Missouri: 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 blocks; 1-1 FG in 8 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
2/27/21 vs. #25 Tennessee: 7 rebounds, 1 assist; 0-4 FG in 8 minutes (sophomore year at Auburn)
12/4/21 vs. Yale: 2 rebounds, 3 blocks; 0-2 FG, 0-2 3-PT in 8 minutes (junior year at Auburn)
This seems like a high-upside pickup from a defensive perspective. While Akingbola has played sparingly as a career backup at Auburn, he has posted some impressive stat lines. As can be seen in the "notable performances" section above, he's had eight games with at least two blocks in his career. Coincidentally, his best game came against an A10 opponent in St. Joe's to begin his sophomore year.
Akingbola's nickname is "Stretch" and has on occasion let it fly from distance. While he's clearly still somewhat raw offensively, I don't think he'll be necessarily asked to play a massive role at GW. I could see him starting and playing spot minutes here and there, or playing more given the matchup. I don't doubt that CC will opt to play smaller at times to maximize the offensive potential that we have from the number of players we have between 6'7" and 6'8* on the roster.
I'm excited to see Stretch in Buff and Blue! I have to say CC has done a good job finding good fits for the school this offseason. Akingbola was a business major at Auburn.
Links
247Sports
Bio
Future150
Game Log
Hudl
On3
Proballers
RealGM
Rivals
MaxPreps
Twitter Account
Verbal Commits
GW Commitment Tweet
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Awesome news!!
Beat out Houston the #2 KenPom among others to land him
Looks like a great addition!
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Where did you get that we beat out Houston. I know he was in Houston, but could they have been Rice?
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Welcome Babatunde and family to our GW family!
6'10 and with muscles. Business major, impressive.
Great chance for a fresh start and the opportunity to achieve your potential and help your younger teammates in your year at GW.
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Nice interview by Abe Rothstein
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Thanks for posting BM. A rim protector and rebounder is exactly what we need. Welcome Stretch! I worry about foul trouble as we don't really have anyone else that can guard a legit 5 at this point.
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Does anyone have any additional information about GW beating out Houston for Stretch? We all read that he left DC without a commitment and was planning on visiting Houston. As FQ mentioned, this could have been Rice. Or, it could have been UH but after working him out, UH opted not to offer. Or, this really could be a major coup by CC and staff, beating out a top 10 program for a transfer.
If anyone has more information on exactly what went down, I am certainly curious.
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It also could be Houston Baptist. Very much doubt we beat out Houston.
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I am not sure whether it was UH, Houston Baptist or Rice. However, I could definitely see it being UH because Kelvin Sampson values defense as much as anyone. I will try to find out.
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I wouldn't be surprised if it was Texas Southern either, given the way Johnny Jones likes to play (crashing the glass on offense). TSU usually represents the SWAC in the NCAA tournament by out-talenting their competition with down-transfers.
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In his Zoom presentation, Coach said that there was still a possibility that Stretch could get a second year of eligibility.
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Well, I have never seen him play, but if CC wants a former SEC big man to have a 2nd year of eligibility, so do I!!
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