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Chamberlain Oguchi has decided on Illinois State for his final two years of college and last season of college basketball.
After announcing in the spring he would transfer from Oregon after three seasons, Oguchi hadn't announced a decision on a future school. After returning from playing for the Nigerian national team in an Olympic qualifying tournament, he confirmed his choice was the Redbirds, who play in the Missouri Valley Conference.
"I didn't really look into" other programs to a great extent, Oguchi said. "I went with a program that I thought I could help and that offered me a good opportunity for playing time, and I thought Illinois State was a good fit for that."
After a 15-16 record last year, ISU made a coaching change, hiring Tim Jankovich off the staff at Kansas.
"Being from Kansas, he'll play an up-and-down style, and I think that's right for my style of play," Oguchi said. "
Oguchi will have to sit out this season under NCAA rules on transfers, and then will be a senior in eligibility during the 2008-09 season.
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"I'll just be leading the scout squad this year, and practice hard to get ready" for his final season, Oguchi said, adding that Jankovich had told him the coach is "looking for me to provide leadership" that final year, when he will be one of the few upperclassmen on the roster.
In both his freshman and sophomore years at Oregon, the 6-foot-5 Oguchi became one of the team's top offensive threats in the latter part of the season.
He was initially a starter last season as a junior, but suffered an ankle sprain in Oregon's victory at Georgetown in the sixth game, missed five games and then saw his playing time diminish as junior Bryce Taylor and freshman Tajuan Porter played so well that the minutes were sparse for substitutes at the wing positions.
During Oregon's four games in the NCAA Tournament, Oguchi played a total of 11 minutes. Oguchi finished the season averaging 4.8 points in an average of 15.9 minutes.
One of the team's top three-point shooters the previous two seasons, Oguchi shot .259 on three-point attempts last season.
In his three seasons with the Ducks, Oguchi scored 571 points for an average of 6.6 in 86 games, 20 of them as a starter. His best season was his sophomore year, when he averaged 9.6 points and had a .360 shooting percentage on three-point attempts.
He concluded that 2005-06 season by being named to the all-tournament team at the Pac-10 tournament, where he averaged 21.0 points in three games and set what was then the tournament record with 14 three-pointers.
Oguchi said leaving the Ducks and transferring to Illinois State offered him "more of an opportunity to play. That's all it came down to."
Since leaving Eugene earlier in the summer, Oguchi said he has kept in contact with several former teammates and seems to hold no ill will toward Oregon.
"Tell everybody in Eugene thanks for all their support while I was there," Oguchi told a reporter, "and go, Ducks."
Of his selection of the school located in Normal, Ill., Oguchi said "it's not the Pac-10, it's not the Big 12 but (the Missouri Valley Conference) is very competitive with a lot of good players in it."
He said a friend put him in touch with Jankovich, and the process of joining the Redbirds advanced from there.
"I've met a couple (of ISU teammates) and I've been up there," he said from his parents' home in Houston.
"I thought it was pretty similar to Eugene. Maybe that's why I liked it."
Oguchi will begin classes at ISU this week, a few days after the beginning of the fall semester at the school.
His arrival was delayed because he had been competing with the Nigerian team during the African qualifying tournament for next summer's Olympics.
Though Nigeria qualified for the World Championships last summer and fared well by reaching the second round, Oguchi's team lost in the quarterfinals of this qualifying event in African and won't advance to the 2008 Games in China.
After announcing in the spring he would transfer from Oregon after three seasons, Oguchi hadn't announced a decision on a future school. After returning from playing for the Nigerian national team in an Olympic qualifying tournament, he confirmed his choice was the Redbirds, who play in the Missouri Valley Conference.
"I didn't really look into" other programs to a great extent, Oguchi said. "I went with a program that I thought I could help and that offered me a good opportunity for playing time, and I thought Illinois State was a good fit for that."
After a 15-16 record last year, ISU made a coaching change, hiring Tim Jankovich off the staff at Kansas.
"Being from Kansas, he'll play an up-and-down style, and I think that's right for my style of play," Oguchi said. "
Oguchi will have to sit out this season under NCAA rules on transfers, and then will be a senior in eligibility during the 2008-09 season.
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"I'll just be leading the scout squad this year, and practice hard to get ready" for his final season, Oguchi said, adding that Jankovich had told him the coach is "looking for me to provide leadership" that final year, when he will be one of the few upperclassmen on the roster.
In both his freshman and sophomore years at Oregon, the 6-foot-5 Oguchi became one of the team's top offensive threats in the latter part of the season.
He was initially a starter last season as a junior, but suffered an ankle sprain in Oregon's victory at Georgetown in the sixth game, missed five games and then saw his playing time diminish as junior Bryce Taylor and freshman Tajuan Porter played so well that the minutes were sparse for substitutes at the wing positions.
During Oregon's four games in the NCAA Tournament, Oguchi played a total of 11 minutes. Oguchi finished the season averaging 4.8 points in an average of 15.9 minutes.
One of the team's top three-point shooters the previous two seasons, Oguchi shot .259 on three-point attempts last season.
In his three seasons with the Ducks, Oguchi scored 571 points for an average of 6.6 in 86 games, 20 of them as a starter. His best season was his sophomore year, when he averaged 9.6 points and had a .360 shooting percentage on three-point attempts.
He concluded that 2005-06 season by being named to the all-tournament team at the Pac-10 tournament, where he averaged 21.0 points in three games and set what was then the tournament record with 14 three-pointers.
Oguchi said leaving the Ducks and transferring to Illinois State offered him "more of an opportunity to play. That's all it came down to."
Since leaving Eugene earlier in the summer, Oguchi said he has kept in contact with several former teammates and seems to hold no ill will toward Oregon.
"Tell everybody in Eugene thanks for all their support while I was there," Oguchi told a reporter, "and go, Ducks."
Of his selection of the school located in Normal, Ill., Oguchi said "it's not the Pac-10, it's not the Big 12 but (the Missouri Valley Conference) is very competitive with a lot of good players in it."
He said a friend put him in touch with Jankovich, and the process of joining the Redbirds advanced from there.
"I've met a couple (of ISU teammates) and I've been up there," he said from his parents' home in Houston.
"I thought it was pretty similar to Eugene. Maybe that's why I liked it."
Oguchi will begin classes at ISU this week, a few days after the beginning of the fall semester at the school.
His arrival was delayed because he had been competing with the Nigerian team during the African qualifying tournament for next summer's Olympics.
Though Nigeria qualified for the World Championships last summer and fared well by reaching the second round, Oguchi's team lost in the quarterfinals of this qualifying event in African and won't advance to the 2008 Games in China.
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