Tai Odiase
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
.jpg) Odiase with Bahçeşehir Koleji in 2024 | |
| No. 21 – Hapoel Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| League | Ligat HaAl EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 21, 1995 |
| Nationality | Nigerian / Puerto Rican[1] |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Homewood-Flossmoor (Flossmoor, Illinois) |
| College | UIC (2014–2018) |
| NBA draft | 2018: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018 | Iberostar Tenerife |
| 2018–2019 | Lavrio |
| 2019–2020 | Greensboro Swarm |
| 2020–2021 | BG Göttingen |
| 2021–2022 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg |
| 2022–2023 | Germani Basket Brescia |
| 2023–2024 | Prometey |
| 2024–2025 | Bahçeşehir Koleji |
| 2025–present | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Tai Osazeeonamen Odiase[2] (born September 21, 1995) is a Nigerian American and naturalized Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Ligat HaAl and the EuroLeague. Standing at 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), he plays at the center position. After playing four years of college basketball at UIC, Odiase entered the 2018 NBA draft, but he was not selected in the draft's two rounds.
Odiase played high school basketball at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois. He was ranked as a top-25 senior in the state of Illinois and the fifth-best center. Odiase helped the Vikings claim a conference title during his junior season and was named All-Conference. During his senior year, he averaged 17.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.[3]
College career
Odiase, a three-year captain, played 130 games at UIC from 2014 to 2018. He started 117 times, including all 102 under Steve McClain leadership. The Glenwood, Ill., native was named the Horizon League Defensive Player as both a junior and senior and he is one of only three players in Horizon League history to be named to the conference's All-Defensive Team three times. Odiase is the all-time leader for both UIC and the Horizon League with 361 career blocks. That number places him tied for 37th on the NCAA's all-time list with Harvey, Ill., native Melvin Ely.[3] As a senior, he averaged 9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.[4]
