Alex Oriakhi

Alex Oriakhi
No. 42 – Orlandina Basket
Position Power forward
League Serie A
Personal information
Born (1990-06-21) June 21, 1990
Lowell, Massachusetts
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school Tilton School
(Tilton, New Hampshire)
College
NBA draft 2013 / Round: 2 / Pick: 57th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013 Limoges CSP
2013 Hapoel Holon
2013–2014 Erie BayHawks
2014 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2014–2015 Pieno Žvaigždės
2015–present Orlandina Basket
Career highlights and awards

Alex Oriakhi, Jr. (pronounced Or-e-ah-ki; born June 21, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Orlandina Basket of the Italian Serie A. He was the starting center for the Connecticut Huskies' 2010–11 NCAA championship team. He transferred to the University of Missouri for his senior year. He was selected with the 57th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

High school career

Oriakhi played at Brooks School before playing for the Tilton School in Tilton, New Hampshire. As a senior, he was named a McDonald's All-American as well as a send-team Parade All-American[1] and the Gatorade player of the year for New Hampshire.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Oriakhi was listed as the No. 3 center and the No. 21 player in the nation in 2009.[2]

Oriakhi chose the University of Connecticut to play for Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun.

College career

He started most of his freshman season, averaging 5.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. At the close of the season, he was named to the Big East Conference all-rookie team.[3]

As a sophomore, Oriakhi raised his game to average 9.9 points, 8.7 rebounds (second in the Big East) and 1.6 blocks per game (7th in the Big East). He was the main post presence for the Huskies as they won the 2011 Big East Tournament and the 2011 NCAA Men's Tournament. As a junior, Oriakhi saw his minutes decrease with the addition of highly recruited freshman Andre Drummond. His production dropped as well as he averaged 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.[4]

After the season, Oriakhi announced his intention to transfer to another school, citing the Huskies' 2013 ban on postseason play. Because Connecticut's postseason ban covered his entire remaining eligibility (one season), he was eligible to play for his new school during the 2012–13 season.[5] Ultimately Oriakhi transferred to Missouri.[6] During his time at Missouri, he scored 11.2 points, grabbed 8.4 rebounds, and recorded 1.6 blocks per game in 25.8 minutes of play for 34 games.

Professional career

2013–14 season

On June 27, 2013, Oriakhi was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the 2013 NBA draft with the 57th overall pick. In July 2013, he joined the Suns for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On August 2, 2013, he signed his first professional contract with Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A.[7] On November 6, 2013, he parted ways with Limoges after just six games.[8] Four days later, he signed with Hapoel Holon of Israel.[9] In December 2013, he left Israel and returned to the United States.[10]

On December 19, 2013, he was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.[11] On February 8, 2014, he was traded to the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[12] He went on to earn NBA D-League All-Rookie first team honors.

2014–15 season

On July 12, 2014, Oriakhi's rights were traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Isaiah Thomas.[13] When the trade was officially completed, Oriakhi would help the Kings win the 2014 NBA Summer League competition in Las Vegas. On September 20, 2014, he signed with Pieno Žvaigždės of Lithuania for the 2014–15 season.[14]

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Oriakhi joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[15] On August 10, 2015, he signed with Orlandina Basket of the Italian Serie A for the 2015–16 season.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Michael O'Shea (2009-04-05). "Meet PARADE's All-America High School Boys Basketball Team". Parade Magazine. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  2. ↑ Alex Oriakhi Recruiting Profile
  3. ↑ "All-Big East Awards". Hartford Courant. 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  4. ↑ "UConn biography". UConn athletics. 2010-03-07. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  5. ↑ "UConn's Alex Oriakhi targeting transfer to top-tier program". Sporting News. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  6. ↑ "Alex Oriakhi to transfer to Missouri Tigers". ESPN.com. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  7. ↑ "Limoges signs Suns draftee Alex Oriakhi". Sprotando.com. August 2, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ Alex Oriakhi, Limoges officially part ways
  9. ↑ Hapoel Holon signs Alex Oriakhi
  10. ↑ Hapoel Holon to waive Alex Oriakhi
  11. ↑ "BayHawks Add Alex Oriakhi". NBA.com. December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
  12. ↑ Skyforce Acquires Alex Oriakhi in Three-Team Trade
  13. ↑ Kings Acquire Alex Oriakhi
  14. ↑ Alex Oriakhi signs with Pieno Zvaigzdes
  15. ↑ "Kings Hold Mini-Camp Prior to 2015 NBA Summer League". NBA.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Upea Capo d'Orlando officially signs Alex Oriakhi". Sportando.com. August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.

External links

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