November 16, (THEWILL) – Washington State men’s basketball head coach, Kyle Smith, has announced the addition of three student-athletes for next year’s 2023-24 season that includes Nigerian freshman, Rueben Chinyelu.
Also included alongside Chinyelu are junior college transfer, Oscar Cluff (Sunshine Coast, Australia), and freshman, Parker Gerrits (Olympia, Wash). All three student-athletes are expected to join the Cougs ahead of next season.
A 6-foot-11 power forward and centre, Chinyelu hails from Nigeria by way of NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training centre in Senegal for the top high-school age prospects from across Africa. Chinyelu most recently participated in the 2022 NBA Academy Games, a series of exhibition games featuring top NBA Academy prospects.
He helped lead NBA Academy Africa to a first-place finish in the tournament. Last spring, Chinyelu played for Mozambique’s CFV in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) as part of an initiative to include one NBA Academy Africa player in each team.
Commenting on Chinyelu’s inclusion, coach Smith said: “We are blessed to have Rueben coming to us next year. He is not only an excellent prospect, but he embodies everything we want in a student-athlete for Washington State University. As a player, Rueben has the potential to be not only a force in the paint, but also a player who can play inside and out. He will play power forward and center for us.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
