Huskers making push for Duke transfer Ojeleye
It didn't take long for a laundry list of schools to throw their hats into the ring as soon as Duke sophomore Semi Ojeleye announced his decision to transfer on Sunday.
Nearly every top program looking to add the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward once regarded as the No. 31 overall player in the country while at Ottawa (Kan.) High School has inquired about his services, a shorter list has emerged of schools pushing the hardest to bring Ojeleye on board.
According to sources close to the situation, Nebraska is among those who have already made contact with Ojeleye and his former high school and AAU coaches. The Huskers were among his many offers coming out of high school in 2013.
The Indiana Rivals.com site, Peegs.com, was able to compile a list of schools that look to be the most involved with the former four-star prospect and 2012-13 Parade Magazine National Player of the Year. Along with Nebraska, that list includes Wisconsin, Kansas, Georgetown, Maryland, SMU, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Butler, Wichita State, Creighton, Tennessee, Washington, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Northern Iowa, Tulsa, LaSalle, Rice and Drake.
Because Ojeleye is leaving Duke in good academic standing, he will be eligible to play at another Division I school starting at the 2016 spring semester. He will have two and a half seasons of eligibility remaining.
After averaging just 1.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 17 appearances for the Blue Devils last year as a true freshman, Ojeleye appeared in six of Duke's eight games this season and was averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.5 minutes of action per game. In contests against Michigan State, Stanford and Wisconsin, the Ottawa, Kan., native played a combined two minutes without scoring a point.
He was the only member of Duke's 10 scholarship players this season who was not named a McDonald's All-American, but that doesn't mean Ojeleye didn't have a sparkling high school career. In guiding Ottawa to four straight state championship appearances and a 94-10 record in four seasons as a starer, Ojeleye set a Kansas high school record with 2,763 career points.
Ojeleye scored 952 of those points as a senior, when he averaged 38.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the free throw line. As impressive as anything he did on the court, Ojeleye also maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his high school career, was a member of the National Honor Society and graduate Magna Cum Laude.
While he struggled to see the court on Duke's loaded roster while playing behind the likes of Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, Justise Winslow and Amile Jefferson, Ojeleye did win the Blue Devils' strength and conditioning testing competition each of the past two seasons.
"We want to thank Semi and his family for their commitment to the Duke program for the last year and a half," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement following Ojeleye's transfer. "He has been an excellent student and a great representative of our school and basketball program. He has been granted a full release and we definitely wish him the best."