Auburn has signed former Santa Clara center Bukky Oboye, the program announced on Friday.
Oboye, a 7-foot-1 big man from Houston, spent 3 seasons with the Broncos. He started 34 of 35 games for Santa Clara this past season, anchoring the middle for a team that won 26 games and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.
“We’re extremely excited to welcome Bukky Oboye into the Auburn family,” head coach Steven Pearl said in a release. “He’s one of the most physically gifted prospects you’ll find — an elite runner and leaper with rare size who impacts the game at the rim on both ends of the floor at such a high level.”
In 17.7 minutes per game, Oboye averaged 7.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per contest. Oboye led all D1 players in 2-point shooting percentage (77%) and ranked top-50 nationally in block rate (8%), per KenPom.
Oboye averaged less than 5 shot attempts per game, but the efficiency was there. On a per-40 basis, he was a 17.9 points-per-game and 9.4 rebounds-per-game player. His 22.4 PER was the second-best among Santa Clara’s rotation players.
Pearl has flipped a small frontcourt on its head this offseason. Oboye is the second 7-footer to sign with the program for next year, joining French big man Narcisse Ngoy. He is the first transfer to join the program since the portal opened.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
