Latest news with #Ajayi
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ajayi, Diangana and Swift released by Baggies
West Bromwich Albion have announced that Semi Ajayi, Grady Diangana and John Swift, who have over 500 club appearances between them, will all be leaving the club at the end of their departures mean the end of six-year stays for Nigeria defender Ajayi and DR Congo midfielder Diangana, who both played a part in promotion to the Premier League in 2019-20 as well as the campaign in the top flight that made 177 appearances after signing from Rotherham United in 2019, while Diangana initially arrived on loan in the same summer and later signed permanently, going on to play 202 games and score 26 leaves three years after joining the club from Reading and making 126 appearances. He made an instant impact, scoring the equaliser at Middlesbrough in his first start for the club in made just 15 Championship appearances this season after two lengthy spells out with hamstring has also been on the fringes this season, most of his appearances coming as a substitute, while Swift has started fewer than half of their league games in the campaign just the list of academy players given new deals is 21-year-old Reyes Cleary, who had loan spells at Walsall and Hartlepool United last season.
Indianapolis Star
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Meet Butler's 'Dennis Rodman' lite: An Isaiah Thomas assist, a disease and growth spurts
Michael Ajayi was convinced he did everything he needed to do to make the varsity basketball team at Kentwood High School in Kent, Washington. Heading into his junior year, Ajayi had no stars and no recruiting buzz. He worked his way up from a 5-foot-7 freshman on the C team to a 5-10 guard with one year of junior varsity experience. If he ever wanted to reach his dream of playing Division I basketball, earning a spot on varsity as a junior was the first step. Then he got cut. "I felt like that was embarrassing for me, not making the varsity squad junior year," Ajayi, who committed as a transfer to Butler basketball, said. "I cried a lot and a couple of days later my dad convinced me to keep playing. ... It was a turning point for me. I stuck with it, but it was hard. "I spent a lot of hours working on my game. I knew I was good enough to play at that level, but I feel like the coaching staff didn't believe in me and see what I saw. But my family always believed in me." Ajayi spent his junior season on the JV team. He wasn't a regular starter at that level either. Division I started to feel unreachable, but with encouragement from his father, Ayo, Ajayi kept working. The COVID-19 pandemic closed gyms throughout the state, so Ayo built a court in the family's backyard for Ajayi to practice. He didn't play AAU early in his high school career, but he spent hours at local gyms — 24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness — playing in pick-up games and perfecting his craft. After his junior year, Ajayi benefitted from something no amount of practice can give you: a growth spurt. Michael Ajayi's 7-inch growth spurt causes Osgood-Schlatter The COVID-19 pandemic put the state of Washington into lockdown. Kentwood's season ended in February 2020. The state shut down in March. Kentwood coach Blake Solomon and his staff went more than a year between seeing Ajayi play in person, but they got their first hint that he had changed as a player when a coach from an Ivy League school inquired about the rising senior with zero minutes of varsity playing time. "The last time I had seen him, he was playing on our JV," Solomon said. "For a D-I coach to call me I was kind of surprised. Then I started reaching out to Mike and other coaches. By the time I saw him I knew he'd gone through the (growth) spurt. "It was crazy when he walked through the doors for the first time, he looked completely different." During the pandemic, AAU players from Washington traveled to other states with looser restrictions to play games. After his junior year at Kentwood, Ajayi grew seven inches to 6-5 and, suddenly, college coaches started to take notice. The added height finally earned him a spot on the varsity basketball team, but it came with a painful condition called Osgood-Schlatter disease. Osgood-Schlatter is when rapid growth causes inflammation from the tibia to the kneecap. Ajayi had the body of a varsity athlete, but his condition sapped him of his athleticism. COVID limited Kentwood's season to just 10 games. Ajayi rarely practiced before games, needing increased treatment with ice packs and knee wraps. "You take him to doctors because he's feeling pain, and the doctors say there's nothing you can do other than not play basketball," Ayo said. "He has to not play basketball, but he has to play basketball because he did not get any looks at high school. ... It was a difficult time dealing with it." Ajayi's body finally caught up to his work ethic. His effort and energy were never in doubt, but his time spent working on his game helped him develop the skill necessary to star on varsity. "When he got into the game he always worked really, really hard," Solomon said. " He always had the skill of playing hard, but it looks different when you're 6-5. "One thing that was also evident when he got back from the break was that he could shoot the ball a lot better. His shot looked really good. ... It just made him that much better." Michael Ajayi became the Dennis Rodman of junior college Ajayi had a solid but unspectacular senior season at Kentwood. He still moved a little awkwardly at that time, but he was long-armed and the form on his jump shot was pure. Battling through knee pain, he played well enough to catch the eye of Pierce College, a junior college in Puyallup, Washington, about 30 miles south of Seattle. Pierce coach Brian Kovacevich learned of Ajayi through Solomon and scouted several of Kentwood's games. Once Ajayi got to Pierce it didn't take the staff long to realize they landed a diamond in the rough. "You could see flashes of it where he'd go up and grab a rebound off the rim and flush it," Kovacevich said. "And he was still growing into his body." The work ethic he developed in high school continued in junior college. The staff at Pierce would open the gym early in the morning for Ajayi to get up shots. He'd work out between classes, go to practice and come back to the gym for more work later in the night. Ajayi averaged 20.4 points and 11.3 rebounds while shooting 38.6% from 3 as a freshman. After a 2-inch growth spurt to 6-7, Ajayi averaged 22.7 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 36% from 3 his next season. Ajayi came into his own at the JuCo level. His athleticism sets him apart, and the way he hunts mid-range shots gives his game a throwback feel. He has guard skills, but his basketball IQ helped him develop into an elite rebounder. "I tell scouts, 'I would easily bet my house that Mike was going to grab a rebound,'" Kovacevich said. "I could tell he was a pretty good rebounder in high school. Body type-wise he's built almost like Dennis Rodman. He's got real long arms and real long legs. "It's not that he's a crazy explosive jumper all the time, but he's very long and powerful. He just has a knack for seeing where the ball is coming off (the rim) and securing it. ... That's why scored so much for us, he got a lot of offensive rebounds off of others missed shots. To me, he's a rare rebounding talent." An assist from NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas After Ajayi's first season at Pierce, coaches took notice of his production, just not coaches at the Division I level. Ajayi nearly committed to a Division II school, but the staff at Pierce convinced him to be patient. On a random summer day, through a connection from the Pierce staff, former University of Washington star Abdul Gaddy invited Ajayi to an open run in nearby Tacoma, Washington, hosted by fellow Washington alum, two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas. The run featured several professional basketball players. Ajayi used the run to show he could hang with high-level talent, and he more than held his own. "No one knew who I was, so I just came in confident and balled out," Ajayi said. "I was guarding Isaiah Thomas full court, hitting every shot, defending my a-- off. (Thomas) seen that in me, and he couldn't believe I was still in junior college." After the run, Thomas shouted out Ajayi to his 1.8 million followers on Twitter. "Mike Ajayi 19 (year) old plays basketball at Pierce Community College," Thomas said. "If you a DI college coach and haven't heard about him you better do YOUR job! He's a really good player." Ajayi also showed well at The CrawsOver Pro-Am in Seattle, hosted by fellow Washington native, three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. With NBA stars giving him props, word of his talent made it to former Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, then the coach at Pepperdine. With the elusive Division I offer finally in hand, Ajayi committed to Pepperdine and continued to dominate the West Coast Conference. As a junior, Ajayi led the WCC in scoring at 17.2 points per game. He added 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 47% from 3. He scored at least 20 points 11 times in 33 games and scored at least 30 points twice. He notched double-digit rebounds 19 times, pulling down a career-high 17 boards against Pacific. The step up in competition did not slow down Ajayi, and he excelled against powerhouse Gonzaga, averaging 10 points and 8.5 rebounds in two meetings against the Bulldogs. After one season at Pepperdine, Ajayi transferred to Gonzaga and put his name into the 2023 NBA Draft. He withdrew and at Gonzaga, Ajayi had to adjust from playing as a high-usage player to a role player. He started 13 of 34 games at Gonzaga, averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 18.9 minutes per. "I learned a lot," Ajayi said. "It definitely was a challenging year for me, mentally. The team didn't fit me as well as I wanted to, the system. But I learned how to play with great guys. How to read the offense, read the defense, read screens. What kind of coverages they're in and to try to exploit that. "My IQ grew a lot from there. Knowing when to cut, when to pass, making plays." Searching for a larger role, Ajayi entered the transfer portal and committed to Thad Matta and Butler. The Bulldogs have the type of player they sorely need. He's a high-energy, high-effort player who can guard multiple positions and excels at rebounding. He's deadly in the mid range, but he doesn't need plays run for him to score. Expect Ajayi to see time in the front court as a hybrid 4, anchoring the defense alongside Drayton Jones. "We all have adversity throughout our lives, but it's how you respond to it," Ajayi said. "I can't wait to redeem myself and go crazy."
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ajayi injury setback a blow
West Bromwich Albion centre-back Semi Ajayi has been ruled out for "several weeks" after suffering another hamstring injury in the 2-0 win over Oxford United on Saturday. The 31-year-old was playing for only the second time since returning from a five-month spell on the sidelines following hamstring surgery. But Ajayi was substituted after 41 minutes at The Hawthorns and Albion confirmed he will now "enter a period of rehabilitation and will target a return before the season's conclusion". "It's disappointing for him, frustrating for him and for us," boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio WM. "He's got all the qualities to be a really, really talented player and he's got real confidence in his mobility to defend, so it allows us to play a higher line in some games recently and try and keep the opposition away from our goal. "He'll be a loss but we wish him a speedy recovery and we will get on with it with the fit players. We wish Semi a speedy recovery." Play-off chasing Albion, in fifth, visit Championship leaders Leeds on Saturday.
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ajayi injury setback a blow
West Bromwich Albion centre-back Semi Ajayi has been ruled out for "several weeks" after suffering another hamstring injury in the 2-0 win over Oxford United on 31-year-old was playing for only the second time since returning from a five-month spell on the sidelines following hamstring Ajayi was substituted after 41 minutes at The Hawthorns and Albion confirmed, external he will now "enter a period of rehabilitation and will target a return before the season's conclusion"."It's disappointing for him, frustrating for him and for us," boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio WM."He's got all the qualities to be a really, really talented player and he's got real confidence in his mobility to defend, so it allows us to play a higher line in some games recently and try and keep the opposition away from our goal."He'll be a loss but we wish him a speedy recovery and we will get on with it with the fit players. We wish Semi a speedy recovery."Play-off chasing Albion, in fifth, visit Championship leaders Leeds on Saturday.
New York Times
30-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Tottenham 3 Elfsborg 0: Academy talents shine but Dragusin suffers injury blow
A direct route to the Europa League knockout phase secured and three goals for academy graduates. This was one of Tottenham's better nights compared to recent weeks, with second-half goals from Dane Scarlett, Damola Ajayi and Mikey Moore breaking the resistance of a stubborn Elfsborg side and ensuring a place in the top eight of the league phase. Advertisement It wasn't an entirely satisfactory evening, with more injury concerns besetting Ange Postecoglou, but after the awful weekend defeat to Leicester, this represented welcome relief. We discuss the main talking points. The fact all three of Tottenham's goals were scored by academy graduates made this apparently routine win feel special for Spurs fans. Scarlett only came onto the pitch in the 66th minute due to Dragusin suffering a nasty-looking knee injury. With limited defensive options on the bench, Postecoglou retooled the team and threw on Scarlett at centre-forward while Pape Matar Sarr dropped to left-back and Dejan Kulusevski moved to central midfield. It has been a strange month for Scarlett, but he ended up making the crucial intervention. At the beginning of January, the 20-year-old was struggling for minutes on loan at second-tier side Oxford United. When Spurs recalled him a couple of weeks ago, the plan was to send him back out on loan to another team for regular game time. Postecoglou could have thrown on 20-year-old striker Will Lankshear, who scored against Galatasaray in November, but he decided to give Scarlett a chance and within five minutes, the gamble had paid off. Kulusevski whipped a cross into the box and Scarlett ghosted in between the two centre-backs before crashing a header past Elfsborg's goalkeeper, Isak Pettersson. The entire stadium started chanting his name in celebration. The problem for Scarlett is that he was quickly upstaged by his team-mate Ajayi. Ajayi replaced Richarlison with around 10 minutes to go and moved to the right wing. He was making his debut but did not look overawed when he received the ball by the touchline. Instead, Ajayi danced past a couple of defenders, drove towards the box and fired a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Advertisement Postecoglou grinned with delight, while Djed Spence, who was watching from the bench, put his hands on his head in disbelief. There were only three minutes and 39 seconds between Ajayi coming onto the pitch and scoring. To cap off a perfect evening, Moore, the crown jewel of Tottenham's young stars, scored his first professional goal deep into stoppage time. Tottenham have experienced a difficult few weeks, but their young stars put a smile on everybody's faces on Thursday evening. UK viewers watch here: Dane Scarlett scores for Tottenham four minutes after coming off the bench! Instant impact 💥 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 30, 2025 Damola Ajayi's first-ever Tottenham goal sends them into the last 16! That's two Spurs academy graduates on the scoresheet tonight 🌟 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 30, 2025 A SPECIAL individual goal from Mikey Moore seals the victory for Spurs ✨ 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 30, 2025 Another injury was the last thing Postecoglou needed, but, such is Tottenham's fortune at the moment, there was no great sense of surprise when Dragusin crumpled to the turf in the second half. The Romania international, on as a half-time substitute, was contesting for a ball in the air with Jalal Abdullai by the touchline. Dragusin was off balance and swung his right leg at the ball in an attempt to prevent it from going out of play. When Dragusin planted his right foot on the floor, he immediately jumped in pain and clutched his right knee. The 22-year-old signalled to the bench that he needed to come off before dropping to the floor while Postecoglou covered his mouth in shock. Hopefully, it is nothing too serious, but the way he reacted suggested he was in a lot of discomfort. Dragusin has started Tottenham's last 14 games in all competitions while Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have been injured. Postecoglou revealed on Wednesday that Romero's return to full fitness is a 'slow burner' and 'he is not on the horizon at the moment'. It means Archie Gray and Ben Davies can expect to play more minutes at centre-back as Van de Ven is eased back into action while Romero and Dragusin watch from the sidelines. Advertisement Dragusin's performances have been mixed this season, but he deserves credit for filling in and doing his best with a rotating cast of team-mates in defence. Dragusin has suffered due to the lack of consistency around him. Maybe with Van de Ven back in the team, he could have shown his best form, but it appears that opportunity has been snatched away from him. As one centre-back departed, another one returned. The entire stadium roared when Van de Ven's name was read out over the PA system before kick-off, his first appearance since the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on December 8 due to a hamstring injury. That game in itself marked his return from five weeks out with a similar issue. It means Spurs have had to cope without arguably their best defender for the majority of the past three months. One of Van de Ven's biggest assets is his recovery speed, but fortunately, there were not too many occasions when he was forced to stretch his legs chasing after Elfsborg's strikers. Spurs dominated possession and Van de Ven stayed on the halfway line before occasionally venturing forward to snap into a challenge. Van de Ven's incredible speed and love for slide tackles means it is easy to forget how good he is in possession. The Netherlands international lofted a beautiful pass over the head of Elfsborg's wing-back Simon Hedlund and straight into the path of Son Heung-min in the 30th minute. Son then fired a cross into the box and Richarlison's header was blocked. Van de Ven's leadership skills were on display, too, as he tried to coach Lucas Bergvall at different points in the game. Bergvall was guilty of being overzealous on the ball in the first half and at one stage he was told to calm down by Postecoglou, too. A lot of Tottenham's players have suffered setbacks in their recoveries from injury this season, so it was the right call to replace Van de Ven with Dragusin at half-time, even if the Romanian did not last long before suffering his own fitness concern. Van de Ven will hope he can play more significant minutes in Sunday's match against Brentford, which will put him in a good position for next week's crucial Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool. Sunday, February 2: Brentford (away), Premier League, 2pm UK time, 9am ET
