Efemena Tennyson Abogidi (born 11 October 2001) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Central Districts Lions of the NBL1 Central. He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference.

Early life and career

Abogidi grew up in Ughelli, a town in Delta State, Nigeria.[1] He competed in track and field, including sprinting, long jump and high jump. Abogidi watched highlight videos of Tim Duncan, who he tried to emulate in local pick-up basketball games. In 2015 and 2016, he was named most valuable player of a camp run by Olumide Oyedeji in Lagos. Abogidi joined Hoops & Read, a program created by Oyedeji's foundation, and helped his team earn a promotion into the Nigerian Premier League in 2016.[2] In the next year, he moved to Senegal to attend the NBA Academy Africa in its first year.[3] In June 2017, at the NBA Academy Games in Canberra, Australia, he suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus while attempting a slam dunk. He underwent surgery and began attending the NBA Global Academy in Canberra.[2] He committed to playing college basketball for Washington State over offers from Creighton and UT Arlington.[2][4]

College career

Abogidi played two seasons of college basketball for the Washington State Cougars between 2020 and 2022.[5] In December 2020, Abogidi recorded three consecutive double-doubles and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.[6] He averaged 8.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game as a freshman, earning Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors for the 2020–21 season.[7] In 2021–22, he played all 37 games and made 29 starts while finishing fourth on the team in scoring at 8.1 points on 51.0% shooting and averaging a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game.[5]

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2022–2024)

On June 24, 2022, Abogidi signed with the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League.[8] On January 3, 2023, he suffered a knee injury during the first quarter of the team's game against the Birmingham Squadron. He was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.[9] In 22 games during the 2022–23 season, he averaged 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks in 18.6 minutes per game.[10]

Abogidi returned to the Ignite 2023–24 season[11] but did not appear in a game.[10]

In October 2024, Abogidi signed with the Central Districts Lions of the NBL1 Central in Australia for the 2025 season.[12][13]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Washington State 27 27 24.4 .491 .273 .811 7.2 .4 .7 1.3 8.9

References

  1. ^ Clark, Colton (2 January 2021). "For Cougs, the secret's out". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Martin, Josh (12 May 2020). "Nigeria's Efe Abogidi Ready for Liftoff from NBA Academy". CloseUp360. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  3. ^ Simon, Benjamin (20 December 2019). "'He Dunks With His Head': High-Flying Efe Abogidi Is Ready to Level Up". Slam. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  4. ^ Lawson, Theo (22 October 2019). "High-flier from Australia commits to Kyle Smith, Washington State". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Efe Abogidi - Men's Basketball". Washington State University Athletics. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  6. ^ Bolton, Barry (28 December 2020). "Efe Abogidi logs another WSU first: Pac-12 Freshman of the Week". 247Sports. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  7. ^ Lawson, Theo (22 June 2021). "Current, former Washington State players Efe Abogidi, Ike Iroegbu invited to Nigerian national team camp". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Efe Abogidi signs with NBA G League Ignite". NBA.com. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Efe Abogidi Medical Update". OurSports Central. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Efe Abogidi Player Profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Ignite Announces Roster For The 2023-24 Season". NBA.com. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  12. ^ "We are very excited to announce the signing of Efe Abogidi for the 2025 NBL1 Central Season". facebook.com/CentralDistrictsLions. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  13. ^ ""Monster" season ahead for Efe Abogidi". nbl1.com.au. 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efe_Abogidi
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