London Lions Basketball Club’s Nigerian-born new signing, Ovie Paul Soko is relishing victory in his very first match with the team he signed for last month, as he believes it is a good sign for better days ahead of him, especially after a long time out of the game.
Megasporsarena.com reports that, Soko, who was born on February 7, 1991, played college basketball for University of Alabama at Birmingham and Duquesne University, USA, but was not selected for the 2014 NBA draft, despite being listed for the two rounds.
The Nigerian-born star, who early this year joined the fifth series of British reality TV show, Love Island and placed third with India Reynolds, attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia where he averaged 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.
During his lone season with Hampton, he led The Bruins’ field goal percentage (60%) as well as a 23-4 overall mark and district championship 16-2 card as a senior, few yearsa after starting out as a junior at Hampton Roads Academy, where he averaged 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
In his freshman season at University of Alabama, Soko played 28 games with six starts, during which he averaged 1.5 points and 1.9 rebounds, followed by his sophomore season, when he played 30 games with 29 starts.
He was rated as one of UAB’s most improved players, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, ranked second on the team in rebounding, field goal percentage (.505), blocked shots (26) and closed the year by averaging 10.9 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting 59.0 percent.
In his junior season, Soko played 30 games with 24 starts, averaging 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and led the team with 28 steals tied for second with 51 assists but he made a switch in his senior season, as he transferred to Duquesne.
He started all 30 ties averaging a team-high 18.4 and 8.0 rebounds per game, becoming the first Duquesne player since Bryant McAllister, and seventh player in their history to lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring, as well as the only player ranked in the Top 10 in scoring and rebounding.
Soko was also the only forward ranked among the Atlantic 10’s top 12 scorers and, after he fell short in the 2014 NBA draft, he signed a one-year deal with Boulazac Dordogneof the LNB Pro B on August 2, 2014 but, a year later, on August 24, 2015 he signed with Aries Trikala of Greece.
While starring with Aries in the 2015/16 season, Soko appeared in 19 games, averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game but, the following year, on April 10, he signed a one-month deal with Enel Brindisi of the Serie A.
On August 5, 2016 Soko joined UCAM Murcia in Liga ACB, for which he averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, then renewed his contract for another season with the team on July 1, 2017, after which he went on to play in Champions League, where he averaged 13 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, which saw him named to the all-star Lineup.
On July 11, 2018 Soko signed another deal with Murcia, where he stayed until November 20 this year, when he signed for London Lions, with which he gained a victorious debut in the British Basketball League (BBL) on Sunday, contributing 17 points and 13 rebounds to help his new team beat Glasgow Rocks 88-72 at The Copper Box.
Soko told Sky Sports NBA: “It felt good to be back on the floor playing again. It has been about six months since I last played a competitive game. I’ve still got a long way to go but it was a solid start (for me and the team).”
