TBT’s ‘most versatile player’ is vital in Boeheim’s Army’s $2-million chase
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All Buddy Boeheim could do was stare. Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu rose toward the rim, about to dunk on the 6-foot-6 Buddy. It was the first of three consecutive alley-oops, which erased the Oklahoma City Thunder’s early lead against the Dallas Mavericks on July 16 in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The last was the most spectacular. Akobundu-Ehiogu sprinted toward the basket, leaped and twisted his body 180 degrees. He caught Vsevolod Ishchenko’s half-court pass in his right hand mid-ascent and slammed it into the hoop.
It was certainly an introduction.
“The first time I saw him unfortunately was at Summer League. He had about five lobs against us in the first half,” Buddy said. “I was like, ‘All right, this stinks right now, but in a week or so it’ll be really fun.’”
Buddy called it perfectly. Akobundu-Ehiogu doesn’t lead Boeheim’s Army in points, 3s or assists across this year’s The Basketball Tournament, but his 31 points, 28 of them from dunks, are undoubtedly fun. With a reported 47.5-inch vertical, his gravity-defying jams, almost exclusively from teammate lobs, have made him a focus of BA’s attack before it faces La Familia in TBT’s Alumni Semifinal Sunday.
Alongside Ty Nichols, Tyson Walker and JaCorey Williams, Akobundu-Ehiogu is one of four portal players on Boeheim’s Army, meaning he didn’t attend Syracuse.
Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu dunks over a defender in Boeheim’s Army’s The Basketball Tournament win over Hall In. Of Akobundu-Ehiogu’s 31 points in TBT this year, 28 have come from dunks. Courtesy of The Basketball Tournament
He’s a reliable and vital paint presence for a team whose turnovers and poor shooting led to an early exit from TBT last year. The 6-foot-10 center leads BA with a 93.8% field goal rate and four blocks.
Yet if you asked Akobundu-Ehiogu about that Summer League game against Buddy, he won’t fixate on his highlights. He’ll first mention his future TBT teammate’s performance.
“(Buddy) was frying us,” Akobundu-Ehiogu said. “I don’t know why we kept on leaving him open, but he was hot. Then I came off the bench, went on a run of my own with some dunks.”
It’s an answer characteristic of his demeanor. Akobundu-Ehiogu speaks softly, but with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what he wants. His name means to let one’s problems be left to God, the virtue of patience, a principle he’s balanced with ambition throughout his career.
Akobundu-Ehiogu was born in Nigeria and moved to Mesquite, Texas, at 13 when he and his three siblings were adopted. His cousin introduced him to basketball just three weeks before his seventh-grade basketball tryout, and having grown up playing soccer, he kicked the ball the first time he saw it.
Akobundu-Ehiogu made Poteet High School’s (Texas) varsity basketball squad as a senior and joined Southwestern Assemblies of God University in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics following a strong senior showcase. But after a year at SAGU, he knew he could play on a larger stage. So he informed his coach he was pursuing Division I basketball.
For the next year, Akobundu-Ehiogu was sidelined with a broken foot but still walked on at UT Arlington for the 2020-21 season. There, his 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game earned him an offer at Memphis as a senior, where he ranked third in the American Athletic Conference with 47 blocks.
“I was never satisfied,” Akobundu-Ehiogu said. “When I was in NAIA, the whole plan was never to stay there. One more year, and we’re gonna go up. Went to UT Arlington and wanted to go to a bigger school. Did that, and wanted to go pro. Did that.”
I was never satisfied. When I was in NAIA, the whole plan was never to stay there. One more year, and we’re gonna go up. Went to UT Arlington and wanted to go to a bigger school. Did that, and wanted to go pro. Did that.Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, Boeheim’s Army center
His workouts, consisting of plyometrics and practice dunks, have garnered over 1.1 million YouTube views, elevating the once-5-foot-4 kid into Boeheim’s Army’s high-flying center.
BA general manager Shaun Belbey reached out to Akobundu-Ehiogu in June, and the center was interested. He’d played in TBT in 2024 with Team Challenge ALS, a Los Angeles-based non-alumni squad.
Buddy first heard of Akobundu-Ehiogu from his brother Jimmy Boeheim, who played with Akobundu-Ehiogu at Tigers Tübingen in Germany for the 2022-23 season. Before Akobundu-Ehiogu arrived to Boeheim’s Army, Buddy said he didn’t get the chance to watch much of the center’s film. He had no idea the level of player joining the team.
“I was just like ‘All right, he can’t be that athletic,’” Buddy recalls initially thinking.
It’s safe to say his perspective has changed.
“I think he’s the most versatile player in TBT,” Buddy said. “I don’t think there’s anyone like him. His presence at the rim, rebounding the ball, blocking shots.”
It’s a crucial role for a Boeheim’s Army team that entered TBT with just one practice together.
Despite it taking time for Akobundu-Ehiogu to get comfortable with his teammates, they now know that if they toss him a lob, he’ll be ready to cash in.
“You saw (Game 1), the first couple (passes were) some turnovers; it was just them getting adjusted to playing with me,” Akobundu-Ehiogu said. “Now I think they got it down, so it’s easy for us to connect on those.”
Akobundu-Ehiogu has started both Boeheim’s Army games with dunks. He even recreated his defining Summer League highlight. Three alley-oops in a row, each assisted by a different teammate, to open BA’s last game against Hall In.
The first, like last week in Las Vegas, involved Buddy, who tossed a lob from behind the 3-point line that found an unguarded Akobundu-Ehiogu at the rim. Akobundu-Ehiogu completed the alley-oop as his defender, Hall In’s Darnell Brodie, stood in awe, sending the Oncenter into a frenzy.
This time, Buddy could celebrate.
