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2015 - Emmanuel Olojakpoke Commits to Akron


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Amazingly similar to Peter Agba -- Nigerian heritage, undersized PF playing C in HS, hard worker, strong rebounder, started playing basketball at a late age and has been developing rapidly, under the radar with top programs. Looks like the Zips have just doubled their odds of having a player to fill the big hole that Tree will leave after this season.

Video of Antino to Emmanuel here.

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Good point about being a rim defender. His Twitter handle, #blockit, is a pretty good clue about where his priorities are. Despite being only 6-6 last season, he was one of the leading shot blockers in Texas HS play, averaging nearly 6 blocks per game.

Emmanuel was recognized in the Adidas Gauntlet Dallas as one of the Top Rebounders, right behind Cleveland's Carlton Bragg. The Zips tried to recruit the 5-star Bragg, but so have all the top schools in the country (Kentucky, Kansas, etc.). High majors land all the established, polished big men, and schools like UA are left to find the unpolished gems that have the potential to develop into something special.

Here's another description of Emmanuel from the Adidas Gauntlet:

Quietly, Emmanuel Olojakpoke (6’7″ Sr. PF, Houston (TX) Cy-Spring HS) was second in rebounding this weekend. Long and with a body that’s still developing, his skill package isn’t great right now (he came up short often on close field goal attempts), but he’s a solid complementary player who will do some dirty work.
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Good point about being a rim defender. His Twitter handle, #blockit, is a pretty good clue about where his priorities are. Despite being only 6-6 last season, he was one of the leading shot blockers in Texas HS play, averaging nearly 6 blocks per game.

Emmanuel was recognized in the Adidas Gauntlet Dallas as one of the Top Rebounders, right behind Cleveland's Carlton Bragg. The Zips tried to recruit the 5-star Bragg, but so have all the top schools in the country (Kentucky, Kansas, etc.). High majors land all the established, polished big men, and schools like UA are left to find the unpolished gems that have the potential to develop into something special.

Here's another description of Emmanuel from the Adidas Gauntlet:

Never good to have package and short in the same sentence.

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Emmanuel Olojakpoke brings a set of special skills to the Zips. Emmanuel has a seven foot three inch wing span. He reportedly is a much better

rim protector than Zeke was at this stage. Emmanuel flat out loves to block shots. At Akron he will mature into a powerful forward thanks to the

great weight training of Tim Campbell.

Emmanuel's last name is pronounced 'Oh-Lo-Jac-Po-Kee'. His nickname is"Okey Dokey".

This a diamond in the rough found by freshman Antino Jackson and coach Rich McFadden.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Emmanuel Olojakpoke brings a set of special skills to the Zips. Emmanuel has a seven foot three inch wing span. He reportedly is a much better

rim protector than Zeke was at this stage. Emmanuel flat out loves to block shots. At Akron he will mature into a powerful forward thanks to the

great weight training of Tim Campbell.

Emmanuel's last name is pronounced 'Oh-Lo-Jac-Po-Kee'. His nickname is"Okey Dokey".

This a diamond in the rough found by freshman Antino Jackson and coach Rich McFadden.

Was that a collective groan I heard from the MAC game announcers? "Okey Dokey" is a great nickname though...that or "Li'l Gamechanger" :)

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  • 4 years later...

I honestly thought he may leave when Antino did since they came from the high school program. Regardless, after all E-man has been through I wish him nothing but the best, not just for basketball but for a healthy life going forward.

 

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I think the traditional "Senior Night" is officially passé. Too bad...I always like the ceremony with the parents alongside the kid that you watched grow from an 18 year old role player into a 22 year old All MAC'er.

 

Call me sentimental, but "Transfer Portal 5th-Year Eligibility Night" just ain't the same...

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25 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I think the traditional "Senior Night" is officially passé. Too bad...I always like the ceremony with the parents alongside the kid that you watched grow from an 18 year old role player into a 22 year old All MAC'er.

 

Call me sentimental, but "Transfer Portal 5th-Year Eligibility Night" just ain't the same...

8 kids just won the National Spelling Bee.   Nothing is the same.

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2 hours ago, NWAkron said:

8 kids just won the National Spelling Bee.   Nothing is the same.

1 hour ago, Zipmeister said:

 

The absurd reason given for eight winners was that the contest ran out of _____!

 

I thought the tiebreaker was to spell each finalist's name? Erin Howard was the gimme. 

 

Contestant: "Erin Howard - was that the superstar football player, Mr. Ohio, that went to Akron at one point?"

Moderator: "No, what was Erick Howard. Please continue with the name."

 

Irony is discussing the spelling bee in a thread about Emmanuel Olojakpoke. 

 

Edited by Let'sGoZips94
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  • 9 months later...
3 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Just ran into E-man at the Cleveland airport. Guess he’s back in town to visit. He said his heart is doing great. He’s disappointed basketball season ended so early.

 

Still a great young man. Small world!

Great to hear he's doing well! Good stuff

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