Akindele Jeleel Ayodeji (born 2 April 1983 in Abeokuta

Abeokuta

Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria and is situated at , on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140....

) is a Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He is currently playing for Spartak Primorye in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. He was also part of the Nigeria national basketball team

Nigeria national basketball team

The Nigeria national basketball team is the national team of Nigeria and is generally considered one of the best in Africa along with Angola and Senegal. They are ranked 21st in the world FIBA rankings....

, and represented Nigeria at the 2007

FIBA Africa Championship 2007

-5th-8th Playoff:-9th-12th playoff:-13th-16th Playoff:-Final standings:-External links:*...

 and 2009 African Championships

FIBA Africa Championship 2009

The 2009 FIBA Africa Championship was the 25th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. At stake were the three berths allocated to Africa in the 2010 FIBA World Championship...

, averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

Collegiate career

Akindele chose Chicago State

Chicago State University

Chicago State University is a state university of the U.S. state of Illinois, located in Chicago.-History:Cook County Normal School was founded in 1867, largely through the initiative of John F. Eberhart, the Commissioner of Schools for Cook County...

 over Rutgers

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey...

, St. Peters and St. Marys

St. Mary's College of Maryland

St. Mary's College of Maryland, established in 1840, is a public, secular liberal arts college located in St. Mary's City, Maryland. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and designated as a Public Honors College . St. Mary's College is a small college, with about 2,000...

. During Akindele's first season in Chicago, the 7'1" center

Center (basketball)

The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...

 averaged 7.1 points per game (ppg),5.6 rebound (rpg) and 1.94 blocks per game (bpg). In his second season, Akindele improved his block total by 8 in 4 fewer games (2.50 bpg), as well as improving his scoring average to 12 ppg. His best game, statistically, was when he registered 28 points (10-for-13 field goals), 21 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 79-71 loss to Green Bay

UW-Green Bay Phoenix basketball

This article lists the history record of the Phoenix at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.*From 1979-2001 the Horizon League was called the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.*In 2007 the Mid-Continent Conference changed its name to the Summit League....

 on December 1, 2004. He was also named the Mid-Continent Conference defensive player of the year for 2004-2005.

Akindele left Chicago State after his sophomore year, declaring himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft

2005 NBA Draft

The 2005 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 2005 in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues...

. Going unselected in 2005,had a short stint with the NBA Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. Akindele was selected in the fourth round of the Development League's Draft

2005 NBA Development League Draft

-Round 1:* 1. Florida Flame: Andre Barrett* 2. Fayetteville Patriots: Nigel Dixon* 3. Fort Worth Flyers: Ime Udoka* 4. Arkansas Rimrockers: Harvey Thomas* 5. Roanoke Dazzle: Will Bynum* 6. Albuquerque Thunderbirds: Chuck Hayes* 7. Tulsa 66ers: Bernard King...

 by the Fort Worth Flyers

Fort Worth Flyers

The Fort Worth Flyers is the name of a now defunct team of the NBA Development League minor league basketball expansion team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005-06 season. The decision was made by the NBADL to not operate this team for the 2007-08 season.- Franchise history...

.

In December 2010 he signed with Montepaschi Siena until the end of the 2010-11 season. In August 2011 he returned to Russia to play for Spartak Primorye.

External links

• Deji Akindele's draft profile at DraftExpress.com
• Deji Akindele's draft profile at NBA.com