AJ Edu was chosen as one of 67 prospects to join the "Basketball Beyond Borders" 3-Day Camp this past NBA All-Star Weekend in the Los Angeles' practice facility in El Segundo, California. Edu got a taste of elite competition as he trained with some of the great young players from all over the world. The community outreach program was founded by the NBA and FIBA in 2001 to help find and cultivate talent from around the world. During the overall history of the camp, 47 participants have been drafted into the NBA, while four more had been signed as free agents. Edu has been quoted as saying that one of his goals is to represent The Philippines in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in which the top 8 teams will be guaranteed spots in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It will be very interesting to see how his development at Toledo will factor in to whether or not he gets chosen to represent his country in the 2023 World Cup and possibly the 2024 Olympics!
For those that don't follow a lot of details on basketball - what is his connection to Toledo?
He signed a Letter of Intent to play for the Toledo Rockets.
(04-22-2018 07:33 PM)MotoRocket Wrote: [ -> ]For those that don't follow a lot of details on basketball - what is his connection to Toledo?
Not sure anyone knows. Cullop certainly has connections in England but I have no way of knowing if she, or those connections, played a role.
(04-22-2018 09:41 PM)Sleepy Wrote: [ -> ]These Toledo connections are probably just coincidental but in one of the videos of Edu that I watched online he was playing in the Great Britain Prep School championship, known as the Harris Charalambous Memorial Basketball Tournament https://www.facebook.com/HarisTournament/
and the tournament is held every year in the John Amaechi Basketball Center in Manchester https://www.facebook.com/AmaechiBasketball/
Lot of Toledo connections. I forgot about Harris being from England.
A bit off topic here but John Amaechi's auto biography,
Man In the Middle, is a great read. The story of a 6'10 Gay Black man from Manchester England making it in the NBA. Kind of a giant odd duck everywhere he went it was surprising to read that where he felt the most comfortable in his international basketball journey was when he played for the Jazz in Salt Lake City.
https://www.amazon.com/Man-Middle-John-A...hn+amaechi
Edu sure looks the part of an NBA small forward. Lots of those guys are 6-10. I think being at Toledo will help him develop and get stronger. From what Ive been able to read, it sounds like he's serious about getting an education. The only downside is that the national team coaches could want him back at any time.
(04-23-2018 03:16 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote: [ -> ]From what Ive been able to read, it sounds like he's serious about getting an education.
AJ's father Ayotunde Edu, who stands 6'8", is a Math and Physics teacher who also coaches their high school basketball team. His mother works as a part-time book keeper and office admin assistant.
(04-23-2018 11:05 AM)Sleepy Wrote: [ -> ] (04-23-2018 03:16 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote: [ -> ]From what Ive been able to read, it sounds like he's serious about getting an education.
AJ's father Ayotunde Edu, who stands 6'8", is a Math and Physics teacher who also coaches their high school basketball team. His mother works as a part-time book keeper and office admin assistant.
Sounds like a great family.