McCaffery Talks Olaseni

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
IOWA CITY, Iowa - - University of Iowa Head Men's Basketball Coach Fran McCaffery announced Tuesday that Gabe Olaseni (pronounced Oh-lah-SEHN-ee) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Iowa.



Olaseni, a native of London, England who played at Sunrise Christian Academy (Wichita, Kan.) last season, is a 6-10, 225-pound center. Olaseni averaged 10.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and 1.2 assists in 28 games his senior year. He shot at a 72% clip from the field.



“We’re really excited to have Gabe become part of our program,†said McCaffery. “He is a talented athlete, who’s 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wing span. He has great length, is able to run the floor and can block shots. Gabe’s someone who will really impact our style of play. As good as he is, he has tremendous upside. Gabe’s a young man with great character and we’re looking forward to having him in a Hawkeye uniform.â€



He helped lead his team to the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) Division I national title. A NACA All-American, Olaseni was tabbed the Defensive MVP of the national tournament. He was also recognized on the Colby Orange and Black All-Tournament team.



“I think it was important to make sure we got another big man in this class,†added McCaffery. “We feel very good about the other three players we signed. To get a legitimate 6-foot-10 player that has his skill set is very important. He complements the class very well.â€



Olesani will join already signed Hawkeye recruits Josh Oglesby of Cedar Rapids Washington High School, Aaron White of Strongsville (Ohio) High School and junior college transfer Anthony Hubbard of Frederick Community College (Maryland) on the 2011-12 Iowa roster.



2011 Recruiting Class

Anthony Hubbard Jr. G 6-5/220 Woodbridge, Va. (Frederick C.C., Md.)

Josh Oglesby Fr. G 6-5/190 Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Washington HS)

Gabe Olaseni Fr. C 6-10/225 Bel Aire, Kan. (Sunrise Christian Academy)

Aaron White Fr. F 6-8/215 Strongsville, Ohio (Strongsville HS)
 
Basabe and Cartwright were late commits...now Iowa adds Hubbard and Olaseni...you would rather have your classes signed in the fall, to be sure...but Fran is doing as good as he can with the hand he has been dealt.
 
Gabe Olaseni 2011 Basketball Recruiting Profile - ESPN

Strengths:
A post player at 6'10 225 lbs�with an enormous 7'2 wing span. Gabe is mobile and runs the floor�while possessing good athletic ability. Offensively he will get put backs from hitting the offensive glass utilizing his leaping ability and length. Scores in the low post with turn shots out to about 10 feet. He is an excellent finisher when he receives drop off passes created by dribble penetration. Defensively he will alter shots and get his share of blocks. A hard worker, with high character and an excellent student.

Weaknesses:
Olaseni must continue to add strength in order to continue to fill out his frame. He must also work to polish up and add to his back to the basket moves and his understanding of the game since he has only been in the U.S. for a short period of time.

Bottom Line:
Olaseni is the picture of great upside.He has the ability to contribute right away on the defensive end og the floor. His athletic ability, length and rebounding along with him be a shot blocking presence is something special. It is safe to say that his defense is ahead of his offense at this stage but he can finish with angles and clear paths to the rim. Expect his scoring package to improve rapidly with the coaching of Fran McCaffery.
Notes

Committed to Iowa in April 2011...
Click to expand...
 
Wow, those are some great words from whomever is writing the eval from ESPN. Fran has shown an eye for talent and for him to offer Gabe the moment he seen him play says a lot.
 
Wow... It's nice to talk Iowa basketball in the spring (anytime of year for that matter). Fran is doing a good job of bring back a historic Iowa basketball program.
 
ESPN is very high on Fran and what he's doing. Im surprised how earlier today GO was an unreached guy, now? 15th best center? Wow! We may have landed an impact piece with his 4 years.
 
He'll be raw this year, but will certainly provide minutes and give us 5 more fouls. I'm excited to have him on board and will be anxious to see him develop. I especially like the wing span and the indication he's a good kid.

Fran has spoken about his desire to up tempo our approach and for the first time in a while we may have some legitimate depth that will allow us to get closer to being able to really get after it.

Remember the years when the coaches had to practice to get a full squad for the second team? As hard as this staff works those days are over.
 
ESPN must have just put that up very recently. Pretty sure they had him at a 40 earlier in the week (40 is not graded). Wonder where they snagged the info from. The formatting looks like it was copy/pasted in. Weird deal.

Good stuff, though.
 
I am thrilled that Iowa was able to land this kid. He looks like he'll be able to help right away, and only grow from there.

I haven't seen any articles in which he or Katenda describe why they chose separate schools. Katenda would have been a nice pick-up, too, although I don't think Iowa's need was as great at at the 4 as it was at the 5.
 
Someone on TOS is saying that they misranked him and will be switching it back to a 40 again.

IDK how he'd know that but its saying 40 again for me...
 
uofihawkInation said:
ESPN is very high on Fran and what he's doing. Im surprised how earlier today GO was an unreached guy, now? 15th best center? Wow! We may have landed an impact piece with his 4 years.
Click to expand...

Are you guys reading the same page?

On my screen he has a 40 rating and no overall rank or position rank.
 
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