Calling it an “Off-Season” is quite a misnomer in college basketball because the news never really stops. For FGCU Men’s Hoops, Coach Pat Chambers has hit the ground running with a flurry of big time commitments/signings. More in-depth articles will release for each of these players but for now we focus on the most recent one. Today (4/25/22), the 6’11” / 270 lb Sam Ayomide Onu announced via his Twitter/IG that he would be the latest commit for FGCU.

Born in Nigeria, Ayomide made his way to the states before playing high school ball at The Phelps School in Pennsylvania (likely where communication with Coach Chambers first began). By the end of his high school career, Ayomide was a 3 (247) or 4-star (Rivals) recruit and considered as good as the 97th best prospect in the nation.

Ultimately, Ayomide Onu chose to sign with Memphis and play under their NBA-laden coaching staff (Penny Hardaway, Larry Brown, Rasheed Wallace, etc.). That year, Memphis’ recruiting class was considered to be the #1 ranked class in the nation. On an eventual tournament-bound Tigers’ team, Ayomide Onu took the year to develop and didn’t play a single minute of in-game action, outside of exhibitions.

With 4+ years of eligibility, the big-man entered the transfer portal on Tuesday, March 29th in search of a new opportunity. After visits with Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, SMU, and others, he decided to take his talents down to Fort Myers and become an Eagle.

Landing a huge commit like this is fantastic for FGCU. After losing Kevin Samuel, Ayomide Onu figures to slide right into that 5 spot along with Andre Weir. Dakota Rivers and Josiah Shackleford should provide minutes there as well, along with some time at the 4. His near-7-foot / 270 lb frame and Power-5 pedigree should allow him to dominate the ASUN in time.

Stay Tuned!

Stay tuned for upcoming interviews/podcasts with some of the recent signings. If you missed our chat with incoming scorer Chase Johnston, listen to the pod on most major platforms and here at ScreecherReport.com/podcast.