Aidan Igiehon

Aidan Harris Igiehon (born 17 August 2000) is an Irish college basketball player for the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He attended Lawrence Woodmere Academy in New York, where he was a four-star recruit and won three state championships.

Aidan Igiehon
No. 22 – Louisville Cardinals
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (2000-08-17) 17 August 2000
Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeLouisville (2019–present)

Early life

Igiehon was born in the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland and grew up in the nearby suburb of Clondalkin.[1] Until he was 12 years old, he played football as a midfielder.[2] At that age, he played basketball for the first time and stood 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m).[3]

In 2012, Igiehon was introduced to basketball by Dublin Lions coach Mick White, who noticed Igiehon and his friend kicking around a football outside Moyle Park College. White, who was holding under-13 tryouts and needed extra players, invited Igiehon and was impressed by him.[1] Igiehon soon joined the Lions, with whom he learned how to play basketball and quickly improved his game. He also grew about one foot (0.3 m) by the following year.[4] In addition, Igiehon played basketball for Moyle Park College, leading his team to an All-Ireland final.[5] In the summer of 2014, he moved to the United States to enroll at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, a K–12 private school in Woodmere, New York, as an eighth-grader.[6][7][8] Igiehon's mother remained in Ireland, while he began living with his aunt and uncle in Brooklyn.[7] He became a starter on his school's varsity basketball team in eighth grade.[9]

High school career

Igiehon played high school basketball for Lawrence Woodmere Academy under head coach Jeff Weiss.[5] Both Weiss and Karim Shabazz, a school physical education teacher and former professional basketball player, helped him adjust to living in the United States.[7] Igiehon sometimes returned to Ireland to meet his mother and play for the Dublin Lions.[10] In his freshman season, he averaged 18 points and 14 rebounds per game, leading his team to a 20-win season.[11] Igiehon also played for the New York Lightning Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team.[12]

In his sophomore season, he averaged 21.5 points and 15 rebounds per game, helping his team to Private Schools Athletic Association (PSAA) and New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) Class B titles.[13][14] Igiehon earned PSAA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Class B tournament MVP honors.[13] Following the season, he played for the New York Lightning on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit, averaging 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.[8][15]

Igiehon missed most of December in his junior season with an ankle injury.[13] He averaged 21 points and 18 rebounds per game,[16] leading Lawrence Woodmere Academy to a 20–6 record, a New York State Federation Tournament appearance, and an NYSAIS Class B championship.[8][17] After the season, Igiehon made his Under Armour Association debut with Team Rio, playing alongside five-star recruits Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis.[18][19] He averaged 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[20]

On October 19, 2018, Igiehon committed to play college basketball for Louisville over Kentucky, Oregon, and St. John's. He was considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals,[21][22] and ESPN ranked him as the 36th best player in the 2019 class.[20] On February 24, 2019, Igiehon led Lawrence Woodmere Academy to a second straight NYSAIS Class B title and third consecutive NYSAIS championship.[23] He also helped his team reach the Federation Tournament Class B semifinals.[24] After averaging 26 points and 18 rebounds per game and guiding his team to a 22–2 record,[25] Igiehon received USA Today All-USA New York first team recognition.[26]

College career

Igiehon did not see much playing time as a freshman at Louisville, partially due to an injured shoulder.[27]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Louisville 1304.7.625–.3751.3.0.0.21.0

Personal life

Both of Igiehon's parents are originally from Lagos, Nigeria.[1] In 2000, his mother Nibokun Omoruyi moved to Ireland, where she raised Igiehon and his older brother Brandon.[2][28] In 2016, Brandon began playing NCAA Division III soccer for the State University of New York at Potsdam.[28]

References
  1. Duggan, Keith (3 November 2018). "Aidan Harris Igiehon - the Dubliner on the cusp of making it to the NBA". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  2. Cavalli, Francesco (16 April 2018). "Clondalkin - Dublin 22". EuroHopes. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  3. Dunne, Seán (15 August 2017). "Meet the 6ft 10in teenager from Dublin trying to reach the NBA". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. Leonard, Stephen (23 August 2018). "Igiehon applauds Lions for helping propel him towards NBA dream". The Echo. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. "Igiehon pursuing the American hoops dream". Dublin Gazette. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  6. Bellissimo, Tony (3 February 2015). "Potential is great for LWA". Long Island Herald. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  7. Kramer, Ari (13 December 2016). "Interest growing in Lawrence Woodmere Academy's Aidan Igiehon". Newsday. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  8. Cordova, David (6 March 2019). "Aidan Igiehon: A Native of Ireland Trailblazes His Way To Louisville". Dave's Joint. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  9. Weingrad, David (29 January 2019). "LWA seeks third state title". Long Island Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  10. Wilson, James (16 August 2017). "Meet the 6 ft 10-tall Dubliner on his way to the NBA". IrishCentral. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  11. Bellissimo, Tony (31 January 2017). "LWA stocked with young talent". Long Island Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  12. "Basketball Spotlight MDC 8th Grade Top Post Players". Basketball Spotlight News. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  13. Bellissimo, Tony (31 January 2018). "LWA Tigers gaining traction". Long Island Herald. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  14. Herzog, Bob; O'Brien, Owen (10 December 2017). "Top 25 boys basketball players for 2017-18". Newsday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  15. "New York Lightning (NY) - 2017 NIKE EYBL - Roster - #22 - Aidan Igiehon - F". D1Circuit. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  16. O'Brien, Owen (12 December 2018). "25 boys basketball players to watch in 2018-19". Newsday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  17. Herzog, Bob (5 April 2018). "Igiehon, Buskey, St. Furcy lifted Lawrence Woodmere". Newsday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  18. Meyer, Jerry (21 April 2018). "UAA: Aidan Igiehon & others shine on night one". 247Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  19. Lawless, Pat (23 April 2018). "Four schools are after Aidan Igiehon the hardest - He talks the latest with his recruitment". Prep Circuit. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  20. Borzello, Jeff (19 October 2018). "Recruit Aidan Igiehon, No. 36 in ESPN 100, commits to Louisville". ESPN. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  21. Daniels, Evan (19 October 2018). "Four-star center Aidan Igiehon commits to Louisville". 247Sports. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  22. Bossi, Eric (19 October 2018). "Louisville adds another in four-star big man Aidan Igiehon". Rivals. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  23. Kersich, Peter (24 February 2019). "Lawrence Woodmere wins third straight NYSAIS title". Newday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  24. O'Brien, Owen (23 March 2019). "Lawrence Woodmere falls to Cardinal O'Hara in state Federation Class B". Newday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  25. O'Brien, Owen (11 April 2019). "Newsday's All-Long Island boys basketball team". Newsday. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  26. "2018-19 ALL-USA New York Boys Basketball Team". USA Today High School Sports. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  27. Demling, Jody (February 19, 2020). "Louisville ends two-game skid, takes down Syracuse". 247Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  28. "Brandon Igiehon". SUNY Potsdam Athletics. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
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