Michael Olowokandi is a retired Nigerian British professional basketball center who played in the American National Basketball Association from 1998 to 2007. Olowokandi was born in Lagos, Nigeria; his father was a diplomat in Nigeria. His family moved to London, England. Olowokandi attended the Newlands Manor School in Seaford, East Sussex and Brunel University. At Brunel, Olowokandi was an athlete in track and field, cricket, and rugby union and began playing basketball when he was 18. In 1995, he enrolled at the University of the Pacific in the United States after discovering it through... Peterson's Guide to American Colleges and Universities. At a 7-foot height, Michael Olowokandi called the basketball office at Pacific in the hopes that he would be accepted. During his junior year, Olowokandi led his team to the NCAA tournament, and after his senior year he was drafted with the first overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game his senior year and graduated with a degree in economics in 1998. Because of the NBA lockout, Olowokandi signed for Italian team Kinder Bologna.
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