Oluseyi Ashaolu (born April 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-Canadian

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. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, Ashaolu played college basketball at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activi ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

College career

Ashaolu lived in Brampton until 2004, when he made the move to Atlanta for grade 9, to play high school basketball stateside. Ashaolu began his collegiate career at

, where he averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a freshman. He improved those numbers to 10.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Ashaolu averaged 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game as a junior. He earned his bachelor's degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 2011 and decided he did not want to be part of the rebuilding effort under rookie head coach Michael White. On May 24, 2011, Ashaolu announced his transfer to

, choosing the Ducks over

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

and Xavier. Ashaolu took advantage of the graduate transfer rule and did not have to sit out the season as a redshirt. One of the reasons he joined Oregon was because his AAU teammate,

Devoe Joseph Devoe Joseph (born June 21, 1989) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for Stelmet Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He also represents Canada in international competition. High school Joseph attended ...

, was on the squad. Ashaolu was relegated to a bench role as a senior, but did not mind the decreased minutes. He averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in his only season at Oregon.

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Ashaolu was not drafted in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

. However, he did sign with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in the 2012 Summer League. On August 22, 2012 he signed with

Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto Cáceres Ciudad del Baloncesto, also named as Cáceres Patrimonio de la Humanidad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. It plays in the LEB Oro, the second in importance in Spain after AC ...

of the Spanish league. He was picked up by

Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa Province, Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan. The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa, Aichi, Toyo ...

of Japan's

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

in 2014. After helping Hamamatsu capture a title in May 2015, Ashaolu joined

Osaka Evessa is a professional basketball team playing in the B.League, the top-tier professional basketball league of Japan. The team is operated by the Human Group Sports Entertainment Company. The team is named after Ebisu. In July 2015 it was announced ...

. Ashaolu signed with the Phoenix, now renamed

San-en NeoPhoenix is a B.League professional basketball team, based in the eastern Mikawa and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture region of central Japan. The team was founded in 1965 as the company team of the OSG Corporation, a Toyokawa-based machine parts manufa ...

, in August 2016. The following season, he moved to the

Sendai 89ers The Sendai 89ers (仙台89ERS) are a Japanese professional basketball team that compete in the first division of the B.League. They are based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The team name is based on the city's founding year, 1889. Current roster ...

. Ashaolu averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game but was hampered by a knee injury in November 2017. He signed with the

NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, currently playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014–2015 season. The Roa ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

in June 2018. Despite having a 70-percent tear on his knee, Ashaolu played through pain and scored 27 points against

NorthPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides Nor ...

. In August 2018, NLEX signed Aaron Fuller as his replacement to allow time for his injury to heal. On June 28, 2019, Olu Ashaolu debuts for the Road Warriors as he replaced Tony Mitchell as the team's import. Ashaolu recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists as he led the Road Warriors in their second win of the Commissioner's Cup as they beat the Rain O'Shine Elasto Painters. On June 30, 2020, Ashaolu signed with the Fraser Valley Bandits of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball ...

(CEBL). On May 17, 2021, Ashaolu signed with

Niagara River Lions The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the National Basketball League of Canada. The Ri ...

of the CEBL. In November 2021, Ashaolu signed with the Alaska Aces for his third stint in the

. On March 15, 2022, he was replaced by Mark St. Fort as the team's import for the quarterfinals of the

2021 PBA Governors' Cup The 2021 PBA Governors' Cup, also known as the 2021 Honda PBA Governors' Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second and last conference of the 2021 PBA season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The 20th edition of the Governors' C ...

as chronic injuries bothered Ashaolu for the whole conference.

References

External links

NBADraft.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashaolu, Olu 1988 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Basketball people from Ontario Black Canadian basketball players Canadian expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Canadian expatriate basketball people in South Korea Canadian men's basketball players Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Vancouver Bandits players Goyang Day One Jumpers players Guelph Nighthawks players Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball players Niagara River Lions players Nigerian men's basketball players Nigerian emigrants to Canada NLEX Road Warriors players Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Osaka Evessa players Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards (basketball) San-en NeoPhoenix players Sendai 89ers players Sportspeople from Brampton Basketball players from Lagos St. John's Edge players