Ovie Soko (born 7 February 1991) is a British 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 the London Lions of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

(BBL) and the EuroCup. Soko played college basketball for the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

and

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...

. He entered the

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

but he was not selected in the draft's two rounds. Soko is of

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

heritage on both his paternal and maternal sides. In 2019, he joined the fifth series of British reality show ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

''. He placed third in the show.

High school career

Soko attended at the Bethel High School in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

where he averaged 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game during his lone season. He led the team field goal percentage (60%) and lead the Bruins to a 23-4 overall mark and district championship (16-2) as a senior As a junior, Soko played at

Hampton Roads Academy Hampton Roads Academy is a private, independent, co-educational, day school in Newport News, Virginia serving 644 students in grades Pre-K through twelve, and part of the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools. HRA is accredited through the ...

where he averaged 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

College career

Alabama-Birmingham

In his freshman season at UAB, Soko played in 28 games with six starts as a true freshman. He averaged 1.5 points and 1.9 rebounds. In his sophomore season, Soko played in 30 games with 29 starts being one of UAB's most improved players, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He ranked second on the team in rebounding, field goal percentage (.505) and blocked shots (26) and closed the year by averaging 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 59.0 percent from the floor (33-of-56) over the Blazers final eight games. In his junior season, he played in 30 games with 24 starts, averaging 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and led the team with 28 steals tied for second with 51 assists. He also changed from jersey number 32 to number 0 prior to the season.

Duquesne

In his senior season, Soko transferred to Duquesne where he started in all 30 games averaging a team-high 18.4 and 8.0 rebounds per game. He became the first Duquesne player since Bryant McAllister (19.7 ppg. in 2006) and seventh player in Duquesne history to lead the

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

in scoring (18.4 ppg.). He was the only Atlantic 10 player ranked in the Top 10 in scoring and rebounding as well as the only forward ranked among the Atlantic 10's top 12 scorers.

Professional career

Boulazac

Soko went undrafted in the

. On 2 August 2014 he signed a one-year deal with Boulazac Dordogneof the

LNB Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

Aries Trikala

On 24 August 2015 he signed with Aries Trikala of Greece for the 2015–16 season. He appeared in 19 games for Aries Trikala, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. On 10 April he signed a one-month deal with

Enel Brindisi New Basket Brindisi, for sponsorship reasons named Happy Casa Brindisi or shortly Brindisi, is a professional Italian basketball based in Brindisi, Apulia. It plays in the first division LBA in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 2004, the well-s ...

of the

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 ...

Murcia

On 5 August 2016 Soko joined

UCAM Murcia UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball team based in Murcia, Spain. It plays their home games at Palacio de Deportes. History Founded in 1985 u ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. During the season, he averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On 1 July 2017 he renewed his contract for another season with Murcia. With Murcia, Soko played at the Champions League where he averaged 13 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, and he was named to the

Basketball Champions League Star Lineup The Basketball Champions League Star Lineup is an annual award for the Basketball Champions League (BCL)'s top ten basketball players for each season. The award is given by FIBA. The award began in conjunction with the league's inaugural season, ...

. On 11 July 2018 Soko re-signed with

of the

London Lions

On 20 November 2019 Soko signed with London Lions. He averaged 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

Le Mans Sarthe

On 9 July 2020 Soko signed with Le Mans Sarthe 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. ...

London Lions

On July 8, 2022, Soko signed with London Lions of the British

BBL A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels (such as the U.K. beer barrel and U.S. beer barrel), oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units ...

and the EuroCup Basketball.

Career statistics

BBL statistics

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National team career

Soko made his debut for the Great Britain men's national basketball team, Great Britain Men's national team in a closed international test match against New Zealand on 24 July 2015. He led Great Britain to an 81–73 victory over No. 18

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifying on 24 February 2020. Soko scored 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Love Island

Soko entered fifth series of British reality show ''

''. Soko went on to finish in third place with India Reynolds.

Modelling

Ovie announced on 26 August 2019 that he is partnering with

ASOS.com ASOS plc ( ) is a British online fashion and Cosmetics, cosmetic retailer. The company was founded in 2000 in London, primarily aimed at young adults. The website sells over 850 brands as well as its own range of clothing and accessories, and s ...

along with his father, Raymond Soko, for an upcoming collection.

References

External links

RealGM.com ProfileDraftexpress.com ProfileESPN.com Profile

UAB Blazers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soko, Ovie 1991 births Living people Aries Trikala B.C. players Basketball players from Greater London British expatriate basketball people in France British expatriate basketball people in Greece British expatriate basketball people in Italy British expatriate basketball people in Spain British expatriate basketball people in the United States British men's basketball players British people of Nigerian descent CB Murcia players Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players English men's basketball players Le Mans Sarthe Basket players Liga ACB players London Lions (basketball) players New Basket Brindisi players People from Worcester Park Power forwards (basketball) UAB Blazers men's basketball players Love Island (2015 TV series) contestants