Ireland has only ever had one player to make it in the NBA, Pat Burke who played for Orlando Magic. It soon could have a second if Aidan Igiehon has his way.
Born in Clondalkin to Nigerian parents, Igiehon currently plays college basketball for Grand Canyon Antelopes, but is aiming to be playing in the professional league in the next few years.
"I have three years of eligibility left. Speaking to my coach, I don't think I'm going to use all three", he told Off The Ball.
"I think I'm ready."
"It's all about how you play. If you show what you can do and buzz is starting, scouts are coming, you kind of hear. It could be after this year, it could be after next year. The timeline is dictated by me and how well I play."
"It was a switch. Something in my head just switched"
11 August 2019; (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black & white) Aidan Harris Igiehon training at Coláiste Bride in Clondalkin, Dublin. 19 year old Aidan will play for the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2019-20 Division I men's college basketball season. Photo by Brendan Moran/SportsfileHow does an Irish player end up in the position Igiehon finds himself in? It all started at the age of 12 when he made the switch from football to basketball.
Igiehon already had an advantage on others, a massive growth spurt. At just 12-years-old, he stood at 5ft 6 inches. That's when he took up the sport with the Dublin Lions and began to learn the skills of the game. By the following year, he had grown a foot.
He got his break soon after when he travelled to a Philadelphia 76ers camp and was spotted by scouts.
"The whole plan wasn't for me to stay here."
"I planned to go out and have fun. I just went out there and ended up being a special talent out there."
"When I came over, there was stuff I was doing at that 76ers camp that I wasn't able to do back at home in Ireland. It was a switch"
"It's a funny story because I couldn't dunk the basketball before I came to America. All of a sudden when I came to the camp, I was punching it and dunking it with ease. I just feel like it was God telling me it's time to show what you can do"
After the camp had ended, Igiehon moved to Brooklyn, enrolling in Lawrence Woodmere academy and began playing varsity basketball. As he moved up through the ranks, Igiehon impressed enough to gain admission to the University of Louisville, home of the prestigious Louisville Cardinals college team.
Despite his best efforts, injuries and a contrasting game plans kept him sidelined for a large chunk of his time there. That's when he got his move to Grand Canyon University, in Phoenix.
The journey from Dublin to Phoenix. #LopesUp
📰 » https://t.co/8HypmIPNDr pic.twitter.com/wGexdRzBQw— GCU Men’s Basketball (@GCU_MBB) April 21, 2021
"It was quite unfortunate. Going to Louisville I had high expectations for myself. I learned a lot from Louisville"
"The thing about college basketball is that; different from the NBA, the NBA is a players' league, college is a coaches' league."
"You still have to fit into a system as pro, but you still get to play. In college, if you don't fit into the coach's system, it's hard. Because he'll just say 'He doesn't fit'".
If Igiehon does make it in the NBA, he has already been given a nickname which might well stick. 'Irish Hulk'.
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