Maryland finalized their backcourt on Friday afternoon after former Seton Hall guard Jahari Long announced his commitment, joining other portal guards Jahmir Young and Donald Carey to revamp the Terps' starting lineup. With now just two scholarships remaining, all eyes are now on the frontcourt and former Washington State center Efe Abogidi with the Terps still in the picture.
While Abogidi declared for the NBA Draft back on April 12, the explosive big man gave himself more flexibility for his future by entering the transfer portal four days later. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward shared a list of over 30 schools that reached out to him within days of becoming available, leading to a viral tweet from Jon Rothstein that Abogidi admitted the initial list “wasn’t supposed to happen.” Still, with Maryland assistant Tony Skinn’s connections paving the way for the Terps' chances, the Terps remain on the updated shortlist of schools alongside Arizona and Florida while a return to Washington State is still on the table.
With the NBA Draft process still ongoing, Abogidi took in a workout with the Bucks then Kings with the latter preceding his official visit to Maryland. Abogidi added a workout with the Los Angeles Clippers is next while a workout with the Portland Trailblazers could come to fruition but until then, Abogidi is working out in West Palm Beach “to get right” as he sifts through all of his options.
“I think it’s something every player should look towards to, see where you’re at with the draft, what your draft stock and try to understand where you’re at with NBA teams and what they want you to get better at,” Abogidi told KREM 2 News. “So I went to the Bucks, they were like work on your fundamentals. You already got the gift defensively, you just got to work on your offensive game. Same thing the Kings said. That’s something that where I go next, that’s something I’m looking forward to. I’m trying to exhibit all of this and still keep my strength of how I played before and trying to be [the] dominant player that I can be.”
Abogidi added his recruitment out of the portal has proved "it's a business out there."
"They’ll tell you every kind of promises they want to tell you, every kind of thing they want to tell you. They’re just trying to get you there then at the end of the day, they just want you because they want you.”
As for next steps, Abogidi added a timeline for his decision is “pretty soon, but I can’t disclose that. It’s pretty soon.” What’s the biggest factor as he evaluates his final options?
“I feel like I'm a player that is really gifted potentially when it comes to my skills. Obviously, everybody knows that I'm really athletic, but nobody knows how I can stretch the floor. That's something…that I need to, show if I want to make it next level because next level is all about if you're a big man, how can you space the floor? Can you shoot from deep? So I'm trying to incorporate that into my game and that is a big, that is one of the things that I'm thinking about,” Abogidi said. “If you want me you got to be able to like, develop me.”
Abogidi, a Nigerian native, was one of two players at Washington State to start all 27 games as a freshman, averaging 8.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while becoming the first Cougar to record at least 15 rebounds in a game since 2017. He followed that up with 29 starts in 37 appearances last season before being named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team after finishing the season with 66 blocks. Abogidi also became the seventh player in Washington State program history to record at least 100 blocks, finishing with 102 through his first two seasons.
Related Links
Well, it would seem to me if he wants to develop his offensive skills toward an NBA career, Washington State had its chance. As for Arizona and Florida, great programs but with Willard’s staff’s track record with big men it would appear we’re in serious contention. Keeping fingers crossed on this one.