Alex Oriakhi Jr. (pronounced "Or-e-ah-ki"; born June 21, 1990) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Depiro Rabat Imtarfa of the Maltese Division One Basketball league. He was the starting

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the Connecticut Huskies' 2010–11 NCAA championship team. He transferred to the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

for his senior year. He was selected with the 57th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

High school career

Oriakhi attended and played in 2004–05 at the

Fessenden School The Fessenden School is an independent day (Pre-K – Grade 9) and boarding school (Grades 5 – 9) for boys, founded in 1903 by Frederick J. Fessenden as a school for the intellectually gifted, and located at 250 Waltham Street, West Newton, ...

(a K-9 school) in

West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic District. ...

for coach Pete Sanderson. Oriakhi played at Brooks School before playing for the

Tilton School Tilton School is an independent, coeducational, college-preparatory school in Tilton, New Hampshire, serving students from 9th to 12th grade and postgraduate students. Founded in 1845, Tilton's student body in the 2021-22 academic year consisted ...

Tilton, New Hampshire Tilton is a town on the Winnipesaukee River in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,962 at the 2020 census, up from 3,567 at the 2010 census. It includes the villages of Tilton and Lochmere and part of the village ...

. As a senior, he was named a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

as well as a second-team ''Parade'' All-American and the Gatorade player of the year for New Hampshire. Considered a five-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Oriakhi was listed as the No. 3 center and the No. 21 player in the nation in 2009. Oriakhi chose the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

to play for

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach

Jim Calhoun James A. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942) is a longtime college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships ( 1999, ...

College career

He started most of his freshman season, averaging 5.0 points and 6.6

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

. At the close of the season, he was named to the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

all-rookie team. 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 Andre Jamal Drummond (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the ...

. His production dropped as well as he averaged 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. 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. Ultimately Oriakhi transferred to

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. 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

in the 2013 NBA draft with the 57th overall pick. In July 2013, he joined the Suns for the

2013 NBA Summer League The 2013 NBA Summer League is a pro basketball league run by the NBA just after the 2013 NBA draft. It gives newly drafted players a chance to test their skills against each other, and to give them a feel for professional basketball. All 30 NBA ...

. On August 2, 2013, he signed his first professional contract with

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. On November 6, 2013, he parted ways with Limoges after just six games. Four days later, he signed with

Hapoel Holon Hapoel Holon Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל הפועל חולון), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Atsmon Playgrounds Holon (), is a professional basketball club based in Holon, Israel. The team plays in the Israeli B ...

of Israel. In December 2013, he left Israel and returned to the United States. On December 19, 2013, Oriakhi was acquired by the Erie BayHawks of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On February 8, 2014, he was traded to the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

. 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 The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in exchange for Isaiah Thomas. When the trade was officially completed, Oriakhi would help the Kings win the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

competition in Las Vegas. On September 20, 2014, he signed with Pieno Žvaigždės of Lithuania for the 2014–15 season.

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Oriakhi joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2015 NBA Summer League. On August 10, 2015, he signed with

Orlandina Basket Orlandina Basket, known as Infodrive Capo d'Orlando for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Capo d'Orlando, Sicily. It plays in the second tier Serie A2 Basket. Founded in 1978, it was one of the youn ...

of the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

for the 2015–16 season. He averaged 8.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 30 games. On May 14, 2016, Oriakhi signed with

Bucaneros de La Guaira The Piratas de La Guaira are a professional basketball team based in Maiquetía, Vargas, Venezuela. Founded in 2008, from 2010 to 2022, they were known as the Bucaneros de La Guaira. The team was re-founded as the Piratas in 2022. The team currentl ...

of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. That day, he made his debut for Bucaneros in an 86–71 win over

Cocodrilos de Caracas Cocodrilos de Caracas () is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Caracas. Established in 1990, the club competes in the Venezuelan SuperLiga and has won six national championships. The Cocodrilos' home games are played at the Parque N ...

, recording 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 30 minutes.

2016–17 season

On July 22, 2016, Oriakhi signed with Socar Petkim of the

Turkish Basketball First League The Turkish Basketball First League, also called TBL, is the second-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously known as Turkish Basketball Second League (TB2L). Format and promotion and relegation The ...

. He left Socar after appearing in ten games. On January 7, 2017, he signed with Garzas de Plata of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

. On April 12, 2017, he signed with the

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the Liga de Voleibol Superior F ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

2017–18 season

On January 26, 2018, Oriakhi signed with

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home gam ...

of the Mexican LNBP, the highest tier of professional basketball in Mexico.

2021–22 season

On June 3, 2021, Oriakhi signed with Depiro Rabat Imtarfa of the Maltese Division One Basketball league.

References

External links