(2026) - Collins Chidera Onyejiaka to Alabama

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

4-star 6'10" Collins attends the The Newman School in Boston and plays AAU for BABC on the 3SSB circuit.  He was offered by WVU while DDV was still its head coach.  

CORRECTION:  He's playing AAU with Team New England Basketball Club which is not affiliated with any of the major shoe companies.

September 2023 synopsis from the New England Recruiting Report:  New England has been familiar with BABC and Newman School big Collins Chidera Onyejiaka for a bit of time now, but he has been developing at a rapid pace. His game has begun to look more polished in the post as he has improved upon the use of his hands and frame to get to the rim. Collins makes waves around the gym with his strong flushes of dunks and shot blocking prowess, swatting shot attempts away in bunches. It's no surprise that Onyejiaka has already attracted significant attention from Division 1 programs. Coaches and scouts have recognized his immense potential and the impact he can have on the court. His remarkable journey to this point in his basketball career has not gone unnoticed, and he is poised to continue making headlines in the years to come.

@Collins32486199

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Rivals

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23-24 High School Stats

Hudl

 

Edited May 30, 2025 by Class of '66 Old Fart
AAU status

[Stuhoo]

1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

The Newman School on Marlborough Street?!!?

Holy crap... they play basketball? That's a very small (35 students per grade) very fancy, very private school between Exeter and Fairfield in Back Bay. A place where mayors and law firm senior partners send their kiddies.

See the building with the red door? That's all of it:

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

CORRECTION:  He's playing AAU with Team New England Basketball Club which is not affiliated with any of the major shoe companies.

[Demo]

47 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Interesting. You look at that picture and he looks a little soft and a little heavy and basically like a big kid. Then watched 1 piece of video of him and he’s a growna$$ man. That is not a flattering picture.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

https://247sports.com/college/indiana/article/indiana-basketball-recruiting-collins-onyejiaka-iu-scholarship-offer-the-newman-school-team-new-england-basketball-club-250440282/

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-recruiting-hoosiers-offer-2026-4-star-center-collins-onyejiaka/

[Demo]

Such an Interesting deal. The way DDV built this year’s roster certainly looked, at least to me, like he was really emphasizing perimeter-oriented skill guys to the exclusion of traditional bigs. The he goes out and offers this kid and Taylor and Diane and shows interest in Hines and those kids are about as traditional as big kids get.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

5 hours ago, Demo said:

Such an Interesting deal. The way DDV built this year’s roster certainly looked, at least to me, like he was really emphasizing perimeter-oriented skill guys to the exclusion of traditional bigs. The he goes out and offers this kid and Taylor and Diane and shows interest in Hines and those kids are about as traditional as big kids get.

I think money dried up and didn’t want to overspend on Federiko2x or Baba Miller. 

[BA47591]

This was a player DD offered at West Virginia. 

[BA47591]

12 hours ago, Demo said:

Such an Interesting deal. The way DDV built this year’s roster certainly looked, at least to me, like he was really emphasizing perimeter-oriented skill guys to the exclusion of traditional bigs. The he goes out and offers this kid and Taylor and Diane and shows interest in Hines and those kids are about as traditional as big kids get.

This roster reflects the staff he had for weeks after the portal opened. If he would've walked in the door with Kenny and Rod immediately after Tennessee was eliminated the roster would reflect their connections. Staff builds rosters. You come in the door stumbling and bumbling, you overpay for alot of players without defensive pedigrees. The roster wasn't a mapped out intentional mix of the "right guys." We are using the Woody approach recruiting, albeit with better recruiters and DD+$$$ should close better. 

I've always liked the idea of replacing seniors with high school kids and transfers with transfers. That would be alot of hs kids in this case. Either way, I think we're looking at year 3 before we can go into the season with hopes of competing for a bt title. DD has only split 1 regular season conference title so it remains to be seen. 

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]