The Providence Friars have been included among some college basketball heavy hitters in 2021 Nigerian Big Sam Ayomide’s list of his final 6 schools. Aymoide’s cut down list includes Memphis, Kansas, Seton Hall, Illinois, & Wake Forest. The Friars have missed out on a few commitments recently after being included in some final cut lists for Darius Johnson and Breon Pass.
Ayomide has been in the States for four years now after coming over from his native Nigeria. He is a 7 footer who has made it clear that he will be making a decision soon on his college destination.
In talking about his final schools, he mentioned his “great relationship with the head coach, Ed Cooley.” Cooley seemed to one of the coaches that he mentioned by name and emphasized his relationship with and with the other schools, he referred to style of play and development of their bigs.
“I talk to Coach Cooley pretty much every day. He let me know how he will develop me and get me to the next level and help me wherever I want to take my game.”
Ayomide has claimed that he tries to model his game after polished big men like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. I think his game at the moment is a combination of those two players’ skills. He possesses the elite athleticism of Embiid, using his length to both finish at and protect the rim, aggressively challenging all those who dare come near the hoop. He also shows flashes of the overall skillset of Jokic and is a much better passer than most guys with his size tend to be. He runs the floor extremely well, running rim to rim with purpose, and has the ability and skill to maneuver his way into emphatic finishes with pump fakes, positioning, and high basketball IQ.
His overall ceiling looks like it could be through the roof with some seasoning and that’s what intrigues me most about him. From everything I’ve read and watched, Ayomide looks like he puts in tons of work on improving his game, honing and advancing his skills, and grinding. That sounds like Ed Cooley’s calling card to me.
The Morning Hangover 