By JAMES MADDEN
Four-star shooting guard Malik Olajuwon is headed to play for SMU, On3 first reported on Thursday.
The son of NBA Hall of Fame member Hakeem Olajuwon, the IMG Academy (FL) senior chose the Mustangs over Minnesota, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.
With his dad serving as the greatest player in the history of Houston’s program, Olajuwon will carve his own path by heading to in-state rival SMU, a program his dad feuded with when he was at Houston.
Olajuwon is fresh off a breakout summer with JL3 Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit, averaging 12.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game which led to him becoming a late-blooming star in the class of 2027.
At 6-foot-4, Olajuwon has very long arms to help complement his large guard frame, boasting a 6-foot-8 wingspan which led to him averaging over 2 stocks per game this summer (1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks) per game this summer.
Scouts view Olajuwon as one of the best high-upside prospects in his class, due to his sheer athleticism and long-term tools, with 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein saying the IMG senior is “just scratching the surface of his potential at this point.”
Olajuwon is Andy Enfield and SMU’s first commit in the class of 2027, kickstarting the program’s newest recruiting class.
According to 247Sports, Olajuwon is a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 87 prospect in the nation in the class of 2027.
Olajuwon is also the younger brother of former high school standout and current Stanford forward Aziz Olajuwon.
Follow James Madden on Twitter
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
