Marquette men’s basketball is going to be playing next year without its starting center.
Oso Ighodaro, who has said all season he would forgo his extra year of eligibility and go to the NBA draft, announced Tuesday afternoon on Instagram he would be doing just that.
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The 6-foot-11 Ighodaro was a swiss army knife for the Golden Eagles and used his crafty ball handling and passing to play as a point center. He averaged 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season and was second on the team in assists with 2.9 dishes per contest.
“Dear Marquette, thank you for everything. Thank you for these 4 years and all the support, opportunities and relationships that you have given me,” Ighodaro said in the post.
“To my coaches, thank you for believing in me and always supporting me through the ups and the downs. To my teammates, my best friends, thank you. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you guys. I will forever have your backs. To my family, thank you for unconditional love and support. Last but definitely not least thank you God for blessing me with these amazing people in my life and this opportunity ahead of me.
“With all that being said, I am excited to announce that I will be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft.”
Ighodaro started the year comfortably in many NBA mock drafts, but shaky performances in the postseason saw his draft stock fall.
ESPN didn’t have Ighodaro in its latest mock draft, which came out April 1.
He will have the chance to impress teams with workouts and interviews and could also get invited to the NBA draft combine, which takes place in May in Chicago. The draft is June 26-27 after the league expanded it to a two-night format this year.
“Oso cares deeply. He is one of the most conscientious basketball players that I’ve ever coached, one of the most unselfish — the most unselfish of the really good players that I’ve coached. I think he came to battle and fight for his team,” head coach Shaka Smart said after Marquette’s season-ending loss to NC State.
“The guy has been a huge part of winning more games than have been won at Marquette in a two-year stretch than I think anyone else. We love him. We’re going to miss him. We’re grateful for him.”
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.
