| Intro | American basketball player | ||||
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Athlete Basketball player |
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United States of America Nigeria |
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| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
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3 January 1991, Staten Island, USA |
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| Age | 29 years | ||||
| Star sign | Capricorn | ||||
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Oderah “O. D.” Anosike (born January 3, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for ESSM Le Portel. He played college basketball for Siena College. In the 2011–12 NCAA Division I season, Anosike led Division I in rebounding, with a 12.5 per game average. He then repeated as the country’s top rebounder in 2012–13, with an 11.4 per game average.
College career
Anosike began his college basketball career in 2009–10. Anosike’s contributions in his inaugural year were modest; he averaged 2.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, in 12.1 minutes per game. He was, however, only one of four Siena players to appear in all 34 of the team’s games.
During Anosike’s sophomore season, he averaged 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Then-teammate Ryan Rossiter was a prolific rebounder as well, and Anosike believes he could have grabbed more rebounds that season, had it not been for Rossiter. The following year, his junior season, he nearly doubled his rebounding average, with Rossiter graduating the previous spring. Anosike averaged 15.0 points, and a nation-leading 12.5 rebounds per game, en route to a First Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) selection. He was also named to the Lou Henson (Mid-Major) All-American Team. During one stretch in 2011–12, Anosike recorded 17 straight double-doubles, which is a Siena record, and the second-longest streak in the previous 15 years of Division I basketball.
Anosike repeated as the nation’s top rebounder in 2012–13, after grabbing 11.4 per game. He was named a Senior CLASS Award candidate as student-athlete of the year, and in January, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas declared him to be the best rebounder in men’s college basketball.
Professional career
2013–14 season
After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Anosike joined the Denver Nuggets summer league team for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On August 5, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with Scavolini Pesaro of the Italian Serie A. In addition to being named a league all-star, Anosike went on to be the Serie A leading rebounder during his rookie campaign. In his first professional season, he averaged 14.3 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game for Scavolini Pesaro.
On May 18, 2014, he signed with Strasbourg IG of France for the rest of the 2014–15 LNB Pro A season.
2014–15 season
In July 2014, Anosike joined the Boston Celtics for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On July 15, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Sidigas Avellino of Italy.
2015–16 season
On August 24, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with Laboral Kutxa Baskonia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the Euroleague. On October 4, he parted ways with Baskonia before appearing in a game for them. Three days later, he signed with the Greek club AEK Athens. On November 27, he parted ways with AEK after appearing in four league games and five Eurocup games.
On January 7, 2016, Anosike signed with Enel Brindisi of Italy for the rest of the 2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A season.
2016–17 season
On July 16, 2016, Anosike signed with the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese.
The Basketball Tournament
OD Anosike played for Saints Alive in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. He scored 8 points and had 7 rebounds in the team’s first-round loss to Team Fancy.
Personal
Anosike is the son of Ben and Ngozi Anosike, both Nigerian immigrants. He has seven siblings: Nicky, Nneoma, Rotanna, Ikenna, Ifesinachi, Anulika, and Ejimōför (“EJ”). One of his sisters, Nicky Anosike, played college basketball for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, won two national championships, and as a senior, was named the NCAA Woman of the Year. She currently plays in the WNBA.
Although his given name is Oderah, his nickname “O. D.” was given to him when he was a young child. Explaining where it came from, he said, “In kindergarten the kids had trouble pronouncing Oderah, so my mom said, ‘Just call him O. D., the first two letters of his name,’ and it kind of stuck with me ever since.” In Igbo, his name translates to, “whatever God has written, can never be taken away.”