Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Junior forward returning to Siena after brief stint at Boston University

Jimmy Patsos

Jimmy Patsos

AP

Shortly after the end of the 2014-15 season, forward Javion Ogunyemi announced that he would be transferring from Siena. The Troy, New York native was a productive front court option for the Saints last season, averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in just over 26 minutes of action per contest. Ogunyemi settled on Boston University, where he would have had two seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2015-16 campaign, even enrolling in summer school.

However, a family tragedy has reportedly led to a change of heart and Ogunyemi will return to Siena. News of Ogunyemi’s decision was first reported by ESPN.com, with The Saratogian speaking with his high school coach about the situation that led to his return to Jimmy Patsos’ program.

For Ogunyemi, the move had to do with missing his family in Troy, especially after the recent murder of his cousin in Troy, Hurley said.

“He finished out school and tried to fight through it and he really wanted to stay,” Hurley said. “At the end of the six-week period there he realized that he just needed to be home. Nothing wrong with BU, nothing wrong with the program. He left with great things to say about coach (Joe) Jones and he feels bad, but it was just the best thing to be back with his family and that’s where he wanted to be.”


It’s likely that Ogunyemi would need a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible to compete in 2015-16, along the lines of Jerome Seagears’ experience when he decided to transfer from Rutgers to Auburn only to change his mind a few months later. Seagears received the waiver, playing for then first-year head coach Eddie Jordan in 2013-14 before deciding to transfer to UNLV where he’ll play in 2015-16.

What makes Ogunyemi’s situation even more complicated is the fact that Siena’s accounted for all 13 of its scholarships in 2015-16. The Saints, who are expected to be a contender in the MAAC this upcoming season, added two spring signees in Kinnon LaRose and Nico Clareth and also picked up former Richmond guard Kadeem Smithen in late-June.

In the front court Siena welcomes back leading rebounder Lavon Long, and they’ll also have two veterans in Brett Bisping and Imoh Silas who were largely unavailable in 2014-15 (Bisping played in six games) due to injury. The Saints also have sophomore Willem Brandwijk, and 6-foot-9 freshman Evan Fisher will be on board as well.