Alex Oriakhi had barely entered middle school when the doubters began trying to deflate his dreams.
As a youngster growing up in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell, Oriakhi aspired to one day play in the greatest professional basketball league in the world. But he remembers his sixth grade basketball coach — who will remain nameless — telling him that he wasn’t ever going to make it.
“I’ve had people telling me that my whole life,” said Oriakhi. “I’ve been chasing the dream since I was five years old. It would mean the world to me to get there. Hopefully it would motivate the kids out there, especially in Lowell, to always keep working.”
On June 27, the dream could very well become a reality. The 22-year-old Oriakhi will be hoping to hear his name called at the NBA Draft. If he does, his critics will be silenced.
Oriakhi holds Lowell near and dear to his heart. On his Twitter profile (@aoriakhi42) he has (hashtag)978, a reference to his hometown’s area code. He has a chance to be the city’s first-ever NBA player, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
His collegiate achievements, while playing for elite programs, certainly warrant an NBA opportunity.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound forward finished up his college basketball career this year with the University of Missouri in the SEC, after playing three seasons at the University of Connecticut in the Big East.
He captured a national championship with UConn as a starting sophomore in 2011, and was arguably the best player on the court in the title game against Butler with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. He was selected to the Big East All-Rookie Team in 2009-2010.
As a senior this year at Missouri, Oriakhi averaged 11.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and shot career-highs of 63.9-percent from the floor and 74.6-percent from the free-throw line. In his final college game, an NCAA Tournament loss to Colorado State last March, he didn’t miss a shot en route to scoring 16 points.
It would seemingly add up to a sure-fire pick in the two-round NBA Draft.
Depending on where you look, you may see Oriakhi predicted as a mid-to-late second-round pick. But many so-called “experts” have him on the outside looking in on their mock drafts.
“I don’t pay attention to what people are saying. You’ll go crazy looking at all of that stuff,” Oriakhi said. “This is the biggest step in my basketball career. I’m not about to start doubting myself now.”
Skeptics out there
Evidently, the skeptics are still out there.
There were 60 players invited to this week’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Oriakhi was not among them. But his positive attitude is admirable.
“I’ll work out for every NBA team if I have to,” said Oriakhi, who took his last final exam at Missouri last Tuesday, and will graduate with a degree in general studies. “I would have loved to compete in Chicago, but I wasn’t asked to go. It’s just more incentive to go out and work harder. Honestly, maybe I needed this. I look at it as a blessing. All it takes is one team to like you.”
Oriakhi signed with Wasserman Media Group in Los Angeles, where he has been training. Kansas center Jeff Withey, Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk and Pittsburgh center Steven Adams — all projected first-round picks — also signed with the agency and are frequent practice partners with Oriakhi.
Recently, Oriakhi worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers. He flew back to Missouri last Monday for his final, returned to LA last Wednesday and will prepare for a lesser-known draft combine in Brooklyn this Wednesday. His agency will then look to set up more workouts for individual teams.
The workload is endless for an under-appreciated player like Oriakhi, trying to prove he is worthy of a precious pick. But the former McDonald’s All-American and 2009 New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year at the Tilton School is enjoying the process.
“I had a chance to spend time around Kobe (Bryant). I mean, he’s one of the greatest of all time,” said Oriakhi, who still has family and friends in Lowell and visits whenever he can. “I get to wake up every day in LA, in beautiful weather. I get to play the game I love. What do I have to complain about? It will probably get more stressful as it goes along.”
Improving his range
Oriakhi was primarily known in college as an athletic, defensive-oriented big man. His body was NBA-ready from the get-go, he just needed to add some polish to his skill-set.
He committed to improving his form and his shooting range. As a result, his free-throw percentage rose from 56.9 as a junior to 74.6 last season.
Oriakhi says he also now has a reliable 15-foot jumper, to go with his strength around the basket.
Playing with point guard and longtime friend Phil Pressey at Missouri helped Oriakhi improve as an offensive player. The two share a chemistry that formed as 14-year-olds playing on the BABC AAU team.
“I think I can show a lot more as a player,” Oriakhi said. “I think I have more offensive game than people know about.”
He has six more weeks to impress scouts and NBA front office personnel. Then, on the night of June 27, he’ll sit and wait.
That’s when the stress will probably kick in.
“I have no draft day plans yet,” Oriakhi said. “I might be too nervous to even watch.”
Follow Matt Langone at Twitter.com/MattLangone
