Ike Obiagu Joins Pirates Basketball Family

South Orange, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team has added a lot of height to its program as 7-0, 240-pound center Ikechukwu (Ike) Obiagu has signed a grant-in-aid offer to continue his education and basketball career with the Pirates, head coach Kevin Willard announced Thursday. After he sits out the 2018-19 season to comply with NCAA transfer regulations, Obiagu will have three years of eligibility to compete for Seton Hall (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22).

"We are very excited that Ike has chosen to continue his college career with us and we welcome him to our Seton Hall basketball family," Willard said. "We now have one of the nation's top shot blockers in our program, and while he sits out this upcoming year, he will have the opportunity to enhance his offensive skills through our individual instruction."

Obiagu, who is originally from Abuja, Nigeria, is transferring to Seton Hall after one very successful year at Florida State, where he appeared in 34 of 35 games and made 14 starts as a freshman. In 10.7 minutes per game, he averaged 2.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and a team-best 2.1 blocks while connecting on 58 percent of his field goal attempts. He and the Seminoles were ranked as high as No. 19 in the Associated Press poll, finished 9-9 in the ACC, earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed and then made a run to the Elite Eight with wins over Missouri, Xavier and Gonzaga.

Obiagu's top performance of the season came in the regular season finale vs. Boston College on March 3, when he blocked a career-high seven shots and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. He also had a great game against Rutgers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge back on Nov. 28, 2017 with 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Obiagu's 71 blocks on the year were the third-most by a freshman and seventh-most by any Seminole in Florida State history.

Prior to beginning his college career at Florida State, Obiagu was a star performer at Greenforest Academy in Decatur, Ga., where he played on the varsity team all four years. As a junior, he averaged 8.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.8 blocks and helped lead Greenforest to a 31-2 record and the Class A Private School state championship. He had an incredible 20 blocks in a single game against Our Lady of Mercy on Feb. 23, 2016.

Then as a senior, Obiagu earned Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class A first-team All-State honors after averaging 8.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.2 blocks. He posted two triple-doubles on the season, including an 11-point, 12-rebound, 11-block performance against Our Lady of Mercy on Dec. 9, 2016. He helped Greenforest to a 27-5 record and a second straight Class A Private School state championship.

Obiagu, who was a consensus, four-star top-10 recruit from the state of Georgia, also had a strong presence on the AAU circuit, playing for the Georgia Stars, which won the 16U Peach Jam championship in 2015.

Obiagu joins a Pirates squad that will have a new look in 2018-19 after graduating four starters that piloted the program to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The returners include 2018 BIG EAST Most Improved Player of the Year junior Myles Powell as well as senior Michael Nzei, who looks to become only the third Pirate ever to appear in four straight NCAA Tournaments. They will be joined by sophomore contributors Myles Cale, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Shavar Reynolds, juniors Romaro Gill and Quincy McKnight and sophomore Taurean Thompson, who all redshirted in 2017-18, and incoming freshmen Darnell Brodie, Anthony Nelson and Jared Rhoden.