KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- As a senior, unsigned three-star shooting guard Ochai Agbaji has seen his recruitment start to take off.
Tuesday night, Rivals.com was in attendance as the 6-foot-4, athletic and long armed wing went for an efficient 31 points (9-13 G, 13-14 FT) and 10 rebounds (six offensive) to help lead Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park to a 57-38 win over Kansas City (Mo.) Ruskin.
Tough and strong, Agbaji did a little bit of everything for his team and showed why he's picked up offers from Colorado State, Northern Iowa, Air Force, Fresno State, Loyola (Chicago), New Orleans, Missouri State and UMKC while programs like Kansas (watched twice in January), Oregon State, Bradley, Texas A&M and Wisconsin have taken notice.
After picking things up towards the end of the summer playing for MoKan Elite Agbaji is playing with a new confidence.
"I feel more confident. Being in the EYBL was something new, it was a whole different level than high school. Once I've come back here I feel stronger, more confident and I like I can dominate more than last year.
"I give it all to my teammates. They find me everywhere I can be and I've worked hard to get my shot consistent."
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Agbaji recently visited Colorado State officially and made the short trip over to Lawrence for an unofficial visit to Kansas. He also discussed a planned official visit to Oregon State on February 10th.
Colorado State: "The visit was really nice. The team was nice, the campus was nice and it was something new for me so now I'm looking to go on another official to so I can compare."
Kansas: "That was cool. I got to see their new locker room and all of that stuff. I got to meet Bill Self and talk with him. He's very interested in me and said they are looking for a wing like me who is strong, tough and can shoot the ball."
Oregon State: "They've been recruiting me since the beginning of the summer and watched my throughout the circuit. They love me as a player and think I am a right fit for what they have going on. I'm looking forward to seeing the campus. I'll get to see a game so I will get to experience that gameday environment and all of that."
RIVALS' REACTION
Agbaji has the look of a classic late bloomer. While he's put up big numbers in high school ball for a few years now, how he's doing his damage has really evolved. He didn't get to take many jump shots in Tuesday night's game, but those he did were crisp and smooth and his stroke from the free throw line is mechanically sound.
With his size and athleticism, it's easy to see why Agbaji is a player that upper end mid majors want badly, but high majors have started to sniff him out and he's trending towards that level. His father played division one college ball, his sister is a volleyball player at Texas and often times these types of things have been good indicators of a player who still has lots of room to grow.
WHAT'S NEXT?
An official visit to Oregon State is planned for February 10th and Texas A&M is expected in to see Agbaji this weekend while Wisconsin is trying to get out to see him as well. He told Rivals.com that he's not in any rush to make a decision and that he's interested to see who will offer.
Like any athlete, he wants to test himself at the highest level but will have to weigh opportunity to play early against long term development as more offers start to roll in.
"I'm just looking for the school that's the right fit," said Agbaji. "A school that I can go in and be effective as a freshman right away. I'd probably be a better fit in uptempo but that doesn't really matter because I just want a good coach who can make me better as a player."
