Player Profile: How top recruit Baba Oladotun meshes in Maryland men's basketball lineup

jmcconn3
1 hour ago
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Maryland men's basketball has gone through plenty of changes in the past two years revamping its roster. Head coach Buzz Williams has had a full year of transfer portal players and high school recruits, where he landed the biggest fish in all of Maryland, forward Baba Oladotun.

Along with being the No. 1 ranked recruit in Maryland, the homegrown talent was No. 10 overall recruit in the nation and No. 8 on the SportsCenter Next 100. Oladotun put himself as one of the Terps biggest recruits in program history, second behind Diamond Stone, who was No. 8 overall.

Oladotun has quite the stacked resume during his high school playing career at Blake High School. On top of helping his school win their first ever 4A state championship, Oladotun played for Team Durant in the EYBL circuit, where social media started coining the term "Baby KD" for him, was a part of Team USA's U18 team as one of the finalists, played in the Nike Hoop Summit, and the Capital City Classic. Oladotun averaged 22.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 2.8 spg, putting his game on plenty of different levels to earn those accolades.

"Being a Maryland kid, it's always a dream to play in a Maryland jersey," Oladotun said in an interview with Maryland Athletics and Walt Williams.

Oladotun has been on plenty of radars from early preseason watchlists and rankings, as the buzz grows prior to his first collegiate game. He debuted at No. 21 on ESPN's 2027 draft board, making it known that he will be one to watch throughout the stages of both non-conference and conference play.

Expected to start, Oladotun will be one of the main players running the offense. His fluid mechanics and play style have already linked comparisons with Kevin Durant, whether it's too soon to tell or a very successful prediction, he could be one of those guys who can play a major role on that Terps offense.

Oladotun as a forward will play alongside bigs such as Tomislav Buljan and Pharrel Payne, creating both a dominant paint presence, while Oladotun can also stretch the paint and play outside, also due to his ball handling ability at his height, where he can do the same with the guards on the floor.

While fall sessions approach, Oladotun will get a much different look during practices as the season comes closer, where more of his skills can showcase more.

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