“I’m happy Minnesota’s my last college journey,” he said. “It just comes full circle. I always wanted to come back and play.”
Femi Odukale, left, reflects fondly on his days playing traveling basketball for St. Cloud. (Photo courtesy Shirley Stinvil)
Odukale has an older brother, uncle and friends in Minnesota hoping to be in attendance when the Gophers open Nov. 6 vs. Oral Roberts at Williams Arena.
The Gophers are coming off a much-improved 19-victory season and NIT berth, but only a few pieces return, including leading scorer Dawson Garcia.
A 6-6, 215-pound Swiss-Army-Knife talent, Odukale’s one of seven transfers who could be the difference in Johnson’s program taking another step.
“Through all the practices in the summer and the fall, he has the most assists on our team,” Johnson said. “He just has a knack for finding guys and making the game simple. The thing I like is, he’s a big, loud communicator. When he has the ball and initiates offense, everybody knows what we’re in.”
Johnson first heard about Odukale’s Minnesota ties from former Gophers assistant and UConn associate head coach Kimani Young, a New Yorker. Johnson and Young recruited him on staff together at the U in 2018, when Odukale was a junior in high school.
