Athletics

Tenacity

Man holding basketball during game on court

Man holding basketball during game on court. Photo cred Jose Juarez

icon of a calendarAugust, 4, 2019

icon of a pencilBy Derek Blalock

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Three years ago, Babatunde Sowunmi was living in Lagos, Nigeria with his parents and four siblings, focused on school and playing soccer.

Then, an essay competition changed his life. Giving international students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the American experience, the competition winner would attend a private school in the U.S. Winning the competition, Sowunmi received a scholarship from Solid Rock Academy in Riverdale, Georgia.

“It’s tough. Sometimes I just break down because I miss them. But, I am thankful for technology and thankful for phones,” Sowunmi says. “It was difficult because all I knew was how to play soccer.”

Once at Solid Rock, he soon turned from kicking soccer balls to kicking for the school’s football team and playing basketball, where he joined an Amatuer Athletic Union (AAU) team. Sowunmi also focused on academics, becoming valedictorian of his small high school.

While playing at an AAU tournament in Milwaukee, Sowunmi met coaches from Oakland, and that’s when the process of becoming a Golden Grizzly started to become a reality.

“I didn’t feel like basketball was going to take me to college. I felt like my grades were going to take me to college,” Sowunmi says. “So, I listened in class, and when the opportunity (to play at Oakland) came, I thought, why not? It’s everybody’s dream to play sports at the college level and in the pros.”

The transition to college had its struggles, though, and he found the help he needed during his freshman year from OU basketball coach, Greg Kampe.

“The first semester was tough because everything was coming fast. I had to catch up on time management,” Sowunmi says. “[Coach Kampe] is amazing. He understands. At first, I thought he was tough on me, but by him being tough on me, it actually made me better.”

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