RECRUITING: Cimarron's Olekaibe chooses Fresno State
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DUANE PROKOP/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
Shown looking for a teammate to pass to against Coronado on Dec. 22, Cimarron-Memorial senior guard Kevin Olekaibe, right, plans on signing with Fresno State on Friday. » Buy this photo
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Apr. 19, 2010 | 3:28 p.m.
Cimarron-Memorial guard Kevin Olekaibe made a case for himself as a possible Division I basketball prospect as a junior.
His senior year made it a certainty.
Olekaibe gave an oral commitment to Fresno State on Tuesday. Though the spring signing period began Wednesday, the 6-foot-1-inch sharpshooter plans to sign with the Bulldogs on Friday.
He also had scholarship offers from Boise State and Texas-El Paso, and North Texas and San Francisco had offered earlier in the recruiting process.
“From my (March) visit, I knew it was a good place,” Olekaibe said of Fresno State. “I had fun with the players there. I liked the gym, the weight training program, and their coaches are good people.”
Olekaibe emerged as Cimarron’s leading scorer as a junior, averaging 22.7 points.
As a senior, he led the state with a clip of 34.3 points, adding 6.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists to carry the Spartans (21-10) to the Sunset Region semifinals.
Olekaibe said Fresno State envisions him as a point guard. He played mostly shooting guard in high school.
“The offensive system is fast,” he said. “They want a point guard who can score in transition or set somebody up, and I can do those things. They run a lot of ball screens, and I’m good off ball screens.”
Other uncommitted local seniors continued to weigh their options Wednesday.
Bishop Gorman coach Grant Rice said point guard Johnathan Loyd will visit George Washington this weekend and is considering offers from Michigan State, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Southern Methodist.
Findlay Prep assistant coach Todd Simon said post Godwin Okonji will visit Loyola Marymount and guard Marko Petrovic will take a trip to San Francisco the weekend of April 23. Okonji also has offers from Hawaii, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas Tech.
Foothill guard Evan Roquemore said he hopes to visit Ball State soon. He also has offers from Air Force and Eastern Washington.
Spring Valley forward Justin Omogun said he will visit Eastern Washington this weekend and has an offer from Cal State Bakersfield.
Coronado coach Paul Berg said post Brandon Glanz will visit Idaho State this weekend.
Legacy forward Samuel Johnson recently signed with Casper College (Wyo.), and Liberty post Ashante Ross signed with Miles College (Mont.).
Girls basketball seniors to make recent commitments include Sierra Vista guard Teena Baxter (New Mexico Highlands) and Mountain View forward Zari Riley (Bethany University, Calif.).
Seniors who made recent commitments in other sports include Gorman girls tennis player Anita Lee (Southern Illinois), Arbor View outfielder Nick Urban (Dixie State, Utah) and Palo Verde girls soccer player Heather Pfister (Adams State, Colo.).
RICE HONORED — Rice was selected to coach the U.S. All-Stars team against the Capital All-Stars in the Captial Classic High School All-Star Game at American University in Washington, D.C., Thursday.
No players from Nevada are involved in the game, which is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m.
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I hate haters wrote on May 17, 2010 11:58 AM:
Boy there are some haters in vegas, the kid can play, the kid can shoot, and he works hard on and off the court, Kevin belive in yourself, belive in your game, and most of all belive in your family, in which you know they have your back. He did what he had to do too get to the next level, and it worked. If Kevin could not play he would not being signing with Fresno State. there will always be haters, but i bet none of YOU can say, You played (DIVISION 1) Big Time Basketball, Or came close to doing what this kid did in his HIGH SCHOOL Career. Fresno State knows what they are getting, thats why they are signing you and thats the only think that matters! so keep putting in work. you will be ok! Good Luck,
stop hating wrote on April 27, 2010 02:56 PM: he shot 37% from the 3 nd 50% from the field thats outstanding to me. Its crazy how every other players articles dont have any comments and his always does. Keep it upp KO your really did something great if your attracting more eyes than cory joseph. Observer wrote on April 23, 2010 06:49 AM: Anybody can create a shot; the question is this: is that shot that is created a good (high percentage shot). Coming down and bombing away from 5 feet behind the 3-point line is not creating a good shot, nor is attempting shots over 2 defenders a good shot either. Time will tell wrote on April 22, 2010 10:27 AM: The caption, "Shown looking for a teammate to pass to against Coronado on Dec. 22, Cimarron-Memorial senior guard Kevin Olekaibe, right, plans on signing with Fresno State on Friday." He's looking at how he's going to get the shot off. Good player who had a good season. It will be intersting to see how he does in college. hooper wrote on April 22, 2010 10:15 AM: KEV IS GOOD HE CAN CREATE HIS OWN SHOT.. HE SHOT ALOT BECAUSE HE HAD NO ONE TO GO TOO.. HE DID HIS THING PROBABLY THE BEST IN THE STATE AS FAR AS IM CONCERN.. HE DID HIS THING GOOD JOB KEV.. JUST GO TO FRESNO ST AND KILL MY BOY!!! Coach Che Jones wrote on April 21, 2010 12:40 PM: He was the best player in the city, and the greatest Spartan in Cimarron Memorial history, which says a whole lot. Cheytown wrote on April 17, 2010 12:09 PM: I glad this is over with so we don't have to hear this dude's name anymore. He was a ball hog. People act like he was the best player in the city. stats wrote on April 16, 2010 12:59 PM: 35 shots per game... Palo fan wrote on April 16, 2010 10:00 AM: Ray, why are you calling out Palo's guards? Ray wrote on April 15, 2010 03:50 PM: he passes and he avg more assist then all palos gaurds.. Laugh at that !! Read More Comments |
