April 14, 2010

Latest LMU Signees for 2010-11

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU men's basketball Head Coach Max Good announced Wednesday, April 14, that Ayodeji Egbeyemi, a standout from National Christian Academy in Fort Washington, Mary., has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend LMU and play basketball for the Lions starting in the fall of 2010.

Egbeyemi, a 6-4, 205-pound small forward from Lagos, Nigeria, participated in a pair of NBA's Basketball Without Borders camps in Africa, earning MVP honors in 2008. He made his way to National Christian Academy in October of that year, where he instantly turned heads with his performances in summer leagues, earning MVP honors in an east coast tournament.

Egbeyemi will join Anthony Ireland, who signed an NLI in November, as freshman on the Lions' 2010-11 squad.

"All of the national recruiting services have commented how strong and physical he is as a player and he uses that to his advantage by playing hard every second. In seeing him play, that is exactly what he is," said Good, who led the Lions to an 18-16 record in 2009-10, their best record since 1996. "He really attacks and is a terrific athlete that is a box out nightmare. He also has the ability to knock down shots from the perimeter."

In the final 12 games of the season, he averaged 18.6 points in helping National Christian Academy to win the National Prep Basketball Championship, defeating Kestrel Heights, 62-61. Included in that final stretch of games was a 30-point effort in a win over KIMA on Feb. 22. They went on to finish 21-9 overall.

He was named preseason all-conference by the Washington Post for independent schools in the state of Maryland.

In the summer of 2007 at just the age of 16, Egbeyemi played for the Nigeria U19 National Team at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Serbia. As one of the youngest players in the tournament, he participated in five games, averaging under two points and two rebounds per contest.

According to ESPN.com, both Egbeyemi and Ireland have earned grades better than 85, which they classify as players who can "start or significantly contribute as a freshman for most top national Division I programs." Egbeyemi has a grade of 86 and is ranked the 74th best small forward in the nation.

As for Ireland, he was graded at an 84 when he signed in November, but he has been moved to an 88 after a senior season that saw him lead his team to the NEPSAC Quarterfinals and claim first-team all-conference in the NEPSAC Class A. All five members of that all-conference team had an ESPN grade at 88 or higher and will be playing NCAA Division I basketball next season.