Iowa Is Next Stop On Ogundele's Journey
This fall, Iowa basketball commit Josh Ogundele will be far from home.
4,102 miles to be exact.
Ogundele, who hails from London, England, moved to the United States at age 16. He came alone, moving to Worcester, Massachusetts, for basketball.
“I wanted to prove to everyone (back home) and my friends that it’s not impossible to go from England, where there’s not really exposure, and come to America and play with hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.
It’s been quite the journey for Ogundele, who, until eighth grade, didn’t play basketball. Instead, he played rugby, but a growth spurt changed everything. Ogundele grew nearly 10 inches from his early teenage years until now, and it took some adjusting.
“I tripped over my own feet,” he joked.
But soon enough Ogundele wasn’t stumbling. He was tearing up the basketball court, playing for Great Britain’s national team.
And that’s when Ogundele caught the eye of Jamie Sullivan, head coach of Worcester Academy’s boys’ basketball team. In 2016, Sullivan’s team traveled to face Ogundele’s squad in the Harris Tournament in Manchester, England. Ogundele dropped 25 points, including five NBA-range 3-pointers.
Sullivan wanted him on Worcester Academy’s roster.
After countless FaceTimes and constant communication for nearly six months, Ogundele and his family were sold on the opportunity to better his basketball career.
“I gave them four simple things I was going to do,” Sullivan said. “(Ogundele) was going to grow academically, he was going to grow socially, he was going to grow emotionally, and he was going to grow as a basketball player exponentially.”
The transition wasn’t easy. Ogundele said he “hated” the first two weeks after his move to America. Sullivan said he would repeatedly ask when he’d be able to go back home to London. After all, he knew essentially no one aside from his coach when he first arrived.
“I’m a mother’s boy,” Ogundele said. “My mom used to help me with so much. She taught me how to cook, stuff like that... I think (being independent) made me grow at a young age, more than some people my own age right now.”
Homesickness wasn’t the only detractor off the court for Ogundele, though. His father and grandmother both died in 2019.
Ogundele didn’t live with his father back home in London — he said the two were close, communicating often, even up until his death — but he was one of the last to know about his father’s passing.
At the time of his father’s death, Ogundele’s mother told his coach, and the message got to some of his friends, but he was kept out of the loop on purpose; he had basketball, and his family didn’t want him to be distracted.
“I know (my father) wouldn’t want me to wallow over it or for it to upset me,” Ogundele said. “He wanted me to play hard and use it as motivation.”
Heading into his senior season, Ogundele averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while playing for the Boston Amateur Basketball Club on the EYBL Circuit. He also averaged 13.4 points and 13.8 rebounds in five games of the Peach Invitational.
It was during his senior season, though, when things started to take shape.
When he released a list of his top five college choices on Oct. 15, 2019, former Hawkeye basketball player Gabriel Olaseni reached out to Ogundele via Twitter.
“I was like, ‘Why is he following me?’ And then he told me he went to Iowa and he’s from London,” Ogundele explained.
Olaseni, who played at Iowa from 2011-2015, offered his experience and guidance. After all, as someone in similar shoes to Ogundele, Olaseni knew it could be difficult choosing a college so far from home. If he had any questions, Olaseni would answer.
“I had one question everyone was wondering: Is Coach McCaffery really crazy?” Ogundele laughed, remembering the conversation. “But then he was telling me no, how Coach is a player’s coach. He wants the best for his players.”
Olaseni discussed Iowa’s up-tempo style of play, how there’s constant ball movement, and that the bigs get plenty of touches. Off the court, he advocated for Iowa’s business program, the program Ogundele will be enrolling in this fall.
Once Ogundele’s top five dropped, the rest of the dominoes fell. Worcester Academy Athletics Director Ed Reilly, who is also Ogundele’s position coach on the basketball team, is friends with Fran McCaffery. From there, McCaffery got to know Sullivan. Eventually, McCaffery and assistant coach Billy Taylor made it out to Worcester for an open gym. There, McCaffery offered Ogundele a scholarship.
“They saw a vision in him before a lot of the other big-time schools did,” Sullivan said.
On Nov. 13, 2019, Ogundele made it official, committing to Iowa.
“Josh is going to have an immediate impact on our program,” McCaffery said at the time of his signing. “He is a young man with great character, and we are thrilled he has joined the Hawkeye family.”
The 6-10, 240-pound center, tabbed by 247 Sports as a three-star prospect, gives Iowa a dominant post presence in its upcoming recruiting class that’s highlighted by guards and wing players. He’s got great hands and excellent footwork, developing into an anchor down low.
However, both Ogundele and his high school coach will agree; he’s not a finished product by any means. The foundation is there, though.
“You’ve got to tone him up, get him into the best shape of his life,” Sullivan said. “He’s got unbelievable hands and unbelievable feet. People liken him to Zach Randolph. He’s similar.”
Ogundele is up for the challenge.
“Everyone sacrificed for me,” he said. “I have to make it; I don’t have a choice.”
