Solomon Alabi

Solomon Alabi
No. 21 Toyotsu Fighting Eagles
Position Center
League B.League
Personal information
Born (1988-03-21) March 21, 1988
Kaduna, Nigeria
Nationality Nigerian
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Montverde Academy
(Montverde, Florida)
College Florida State (2007–2010)
NBA draft 2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 50th overall
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career 2010–present
Career history
20102012 Toronto Raptors
2010–2011Erie BayHawks
2012Bakersfield Jam
2012–2013 Idaho Stampede
2013 Ikaros Kallitheas B.C.
2013–2014 Yulon Dinos
2015 Barako Bull Energy
2016–present Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-ACC (2010)
  • 2× ACC All-Defensive team (2009, 2010)
  • ACC All-Freshman team (2009)

Solomon Makfan Alabi (born March 21, 1988) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya of the B.League. He attended Florida State University where he helped them to a third-place finish in the ACC standings and a trip to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Gonzaga in the first round. The 7-foot-1 Alabi was a two-time ACC All-Defensive team selection in both his freshman and sophomore years. He played soccer before taking up basketball at age 15.[1]

Early life

Alabi grew up in Kaduna, Nigeria before moving to Orlando, Florida at the age of 15. He attended high school at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida where he was an all-state performer and helped lead Montverde Academy to a perfect 30–0 record during his senior season.[1] He attended the same high school as Minnesota's Luc Mbah a Moute. Alabi started for the Nigerian Junior National Team at the 2007 Nike All-American camp. He also helped Nigeria qualify for the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

College career

After breaking his leg 10 games into his freshman year, Alabi had to take a medical redshirt. As a redshirt freshman, he earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors by averaging 8.4 points per game and leading the ACC in blocks with 2.1 per game. For his great shot-blocking ability, he was named to the ACC All-Defensive team in 2008–2009.[1]

As a redshirt sophomore, Alabi ranked 26th in the nation in blocked shots with an average of 2.39 while increasing his scoring average to 11.7 points per game.[2] On April 23, 2010, he declared himself eligible for the 2010 NBA draft.[3]

Professional career

On June 24, 2010, Alabi was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 50th pick, and traded to the Toronto Raptors for cash considerations.[4]

On July 8, 2010, he signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors.[5] The Raptors assigned him to the Erie BayHawks on November 15, 2010.[6] He was recalled on December 9, 2010,[7] sent back to Erie on January 6, 2011,[8] and recalled once again by the Raptors on January 14, 2011.[9] The Raptors assigned him to the BayHawks for a third time on March 9, 2011.[10] Afterwards, Alabi was recalled back up to Toronto for a third time on April 5, 2011.[11]

On January 4, 2012, Alabi was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League.[12] He was recalled on January 22, 2012.[13] On April 26, 2012, against the New Jersey Nets, Alabi recorded career highs of 11 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocks in 40 minutes in the final game of the regular season.[14]

On October 1, 2012, Solomon signed with the New Orleans Hornets.[15] However, he was released on October 27.[16]

On December 28, 2012, Alabi joined the Idaho Stampede.[17] He was released on March 1, 2013.

On March 21, 2013, he signed with the Greek first division basketball club Ikaros Kallitheas B.C.

On September 28, 2013, Alabi signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.[18] However, he was waived on October 5.[19] He later signed with the Yulon Dinos of Taiwan for the 2013–14 season.

In January 2015, Alabi signed with the Barako Bull Energy for the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[20]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Toronto 12 0 4.9 .200 .000 .000 1.2 .2 .2 .2 .5
2011–12 Toronto 14 0 8.7 .361 .000 .875 3.4 .2 .1 .6 2.4
Career 26 0 7.0 .314 .000 .700 2.3 .2 .2 .4 1.5

Illness

On June 27, 2010, it was revealed that Alabi had Hepatitis B, which was the reason for him sliding so far in the NBA Draft.[21]

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.