By Palmer Johnson
JUCO transfer Larry Olayinka visited Mason this weekend. Olayinka is a 6’10 forward/center who played JUCO ball at Garden City Community College, a community college in Garden City, Kansas.
UPDATE:
Olayinka visited this weekend 🔰 https://t.co/UW4SXg53ZB pic.twitter.com/OtXcb8pUEK
— George Mason Recruiting (@GMURecruiting) May 15, 2023
Larry will have three years of eligibility, and with the number of older bigs on the team, could possibly be a starter for this team in his later years.
The JUCO transfer has offers from Mason, IUPUI, San Jose State, New Mexico State, and Eric Konkol’s Tulsa.
6’10 Forward out of Los Angeles. Played last season at Garden City CC (JUCO) in Kansas where he averaged 7.5ppg & 5.2rpg. All-Defensive Team selection. 3 years of eligibility remaining. https://t.co/Djv7ObjvaY
— George Mason Recruiting (@GMURecruiting) May 11, 2023
In the 2022-23 season for Garden City Community College, Olayinka played in 26 games, starting in 13 of them. He averaged 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1 assist per game in 18.8 minutes per game while shooting 67.2% from the field and 61% from the free throw line.
Larry is a great offensive rebounder, having more rebounds on offense than defense. If he can get offensive rebounds while still being a good rebounder on the defensive end, that will provide valuable extra possessions that are killer to the opponent’s momentum and energy.
It does seem like Olayinka may have an issue with fouling though, averaging 2.96 fouls per game. If you adjust his foul numbers to if he played 30 minutes a game, he would have averaged 4.72 fouls. I think that he could work on this with the coaching staff and make it less of a problem.
Although he did not show it in his lone season in JUCO, Larry does have the ability to stretch out to the three-point line. He is very skilled with and without the ball in his hands for a guy his size.
At 6’10, he has great size for the A10, but looks even bigger on the court. If someone told me he was 7’2, I would believe them.
It is worth noting that Olayinka’s high school team was also named the Patriots. Hopefully he’ll become a Patriot once again. Larry Olayinka could be a long-term valuable piece for Tony Skinn, and I hope he chooses to show that in Fairfax.
