High major interest for Kansas senior
College coaches across the country are scrambling for big men to fill out their 2011 recruiting classes. This winter, Gabe Olaseni has been the recipient of more and more of that attention.
A native of London, England who is playing his high school ball at Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian, Olaseni is a mobile 6-foot-9 big man who has made strides as a senior.
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"Gabe has steadily improved," Sunrise coach Kyle Lindsted. "I think he's gotten better every game. The one thing I can count on now is that now I know Gabe is going to play hard every game. I know that he's going to defend, he's going to rebound and block a lot of shots."
Long and lean with good quickness off the floor, Olaseni blocks and alters shots around the rim. He runs the floor well, rebounds his area and tries to dunk everything around the rim.
"I see a steadiness in his game now," said Lindsted. "He's finishing more consistently around the rim. He was missing chippies early, but he's not now. He allows us to put up 80 or 90 points a game now."
In order to prepare for college, Olaseni is working hard on his offensive repertoire and adding strength. Although, he might still be a little too nice on the floor at times.
"His attitude is phenomenal," said Lindsted. "If anything he's too nice of kid. He's gotten a little meaner and a little tougher. That's the thing that has helped. As he continues to do that, get tougher, he'll really develop."
To date, Lindsted says that Olaseni has received offers from Iowa, Xavier and Auburn while other programs involved are Ole Miss, TCU, Clemson, South Florida and Georgia.
While Olaseni is still open to some more attention. He is starting to lock in on some schools and will be moving towards a decision after his season ends next week.
"He hasn't set up any visits but I would think Iowa would be a place that he will visit," said Lindsted. "I think he'll probably visit Auburn too and probably has spots for two or three more visits. We'll just kind of see as it thins down."