Deji Akindele

Deji Akindele
Vaqueros de Bayamón
Position Center
League BSN
Personal information
Born (1983-04-02) April 2, 1983
Abeokuta, Nigeria
Nationality Nigerian
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
College Chicago State (2003–2005)
NBA draft 2005 / Undrafted
Playing career 2005–present
Career history
2005–2007 Fort Worth Flyers
2007 Iowa Energy
2007–2008 Pau-Orthez
2008–2009 Scavolini Spar Pesaro
2010 SPO Rouen Basket
2010 Nizhny Novgorod
2010–2011 Montepaschi Siena
2011–2012 Spartak Primorye
2012 Petrochimi Bandar Imam
2012–2013 Juvecaserta Basket
2013 Champville
2013–2014 Budućnost Podgorica
2014 Gran Canaria
2014–2015 Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
2015 Vaqueros de Bayamón
2015 Metros de Santiago
2015 Yeşilgiresun Belediye
2016 Vaqueros de Bayamón
2016–2017 Fuerza Regia
2017–present Vaqueros de Bayamón
Career highlights and awards

Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born April 2, 1983) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). In Yoruba, Akindele means "conquering warrior returns home".

Collegiate career

Akindele chose Chicago State over Rutgers, St. Peters and St. Marys. During Akindele's first season in Chicago, the 7'1" center averaged 7.1 points per game (ppg),5.6 rebound (rpg) and 1.94 blocks per game (bpg).[1] In his second season, Akindele improved his block total by 8 in 4 fewer games (2.50 bpg), as well as improving his scoring average to 12 ppg.[2] His best game, statistically, was when he registered 28 points (10-for-13 field goals), 21 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 79–71 loss to Green Bay on December 1, 2004.[3] He was also named the Mid-Continent Conference defensive player of the year for 2004–2005.

Professional career

Akindele left Chicago State after his sophomore year, declaring himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft. Going unselected in 2005, had a short stint with the NBA Golden State Warriors. Akindele was selected in the fourth round of the Development League's Draft by the Fort Worth Flyers.[4]

In December 2010 he signed with Montepaschi Siena until the end of the 2010–11 season.[5] In August 2011 he returned to Russia to play for Spartak Primorye.[6] In February 2012, he signed in Iran with Petrochimi Bandar Imam.[7] In August 2012, he signed with Juvecaserta Basket.[8] In April 2013, he left them and signed with Champville in Lebanon.[9]

In August 2013, he signed with Budućnost Podgorica.[10] Once the Adriatic League regular season finished, in April 2014 Akindele signed for Gran Canaria until the end of the 2013–14 season.[11]

In September 2014, he signed with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada of Spain for the 2014–15 ACB season.[12] He won the ACB Player of the Month Award in January 2015.[13]

On June 11, 2015, he signed with Yeşilgiresun Belediye of the Turkish Basketball League for the 2015–16 season.[14] On June 27, 2015, he signed a short-term deal with Vaqueros de Bayamón of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season.[15] In July 2015, he joined the Metros de Santiago of Dominican Republic for the rest of the 2015 LNB season.[16]

In October 2016, Akindele signed with Fuerza Regia of the Mexican LNBP.[17] On April 5, 2017, he re-joined the Vaqueros de Bayamón.[18]

National team

He was part of the Nigeria national basketball team, and represented Nigeria at the 2007 and 2009 African Championships, averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Chicago State Cougars Statistics – 2003–04. Sports.espn.go.com (2011-01-02). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  2. ↑ Chicago State Cougars Statistics – 2004–05. Sports.espn.go.com (2011-01-02). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  3. ↑ Green Bay vs. Chicago State – Box Score – December 01, 2004 – ESPN. Sports.espn.go.com (2004-12-01). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  4. ↑ D-League Draft Board 2005. Nba.com (2009-09-29). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  5. ↑ Montepaschi lands Deji Akindele. Euroleague.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  6. ↑ Spartak Primorye lands Torey Thomas and Jekeel Akindele. Sportando.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  7. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele signed with Petrochimi". Eurobasket.net. 27 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Juve Caserta announced Jeleel Akindele". Sportando.net. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele inks in Lebanon with Champville". Sportando.net. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele (ex Champville) is a newcomer at Buducnost". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  11. ↑ El Herbalife Gran Canaria se hace con los servicios de Jeleel Akindele; ACB.com 15 April 2014 (in Spanish)
  12. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele signs with Fuenlabrada". Sportando.com. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "ACB.COM - Jeleel Akindele, MVP del mes de Enero". acb.com. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  14. ↑ "Yesilgiresun signs Jeleel Akindele". Sportando.com. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Vaqueros de Bayamon sign Jeleel Akindele to a short-deal". Sportando.com. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele joins Metros de Santiago". Court-side.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Jeleel Akindele (ex Bayamon) joins Fuerza Regia". Eurobasket.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Deji Akindele and Hector Hernandez ink with Vaqueros de Bayamon". Sportando.com. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  19. ↑ FIBA.com profile. Libya2009.fiba.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
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