Faith, hard work land Fremd basketball player on Illini basketball roster

Somi Dada just knew the day would come. Faith and work ethic have been cornerstones in her life since coming to America from Nigeria nearly 4 decades ago. These same traits, instilled in her children, helped propel her son, Samson Oladimeji, a health administration major, into a walk-on position for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team last November.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, boasting a student population of 40,000, is an NCAA Division 1 school competing in the Big Ten Conference for athletics. Only 15-16 players make the school's basketball team roster each year. Most of the players who make the roster are nationally ranked recruits, who are offered full-ride scholarships to come pursue a degree and play basketball at the school. Illinois players get the opportunity to play in a stadium that seats 13,000. Coached by Brad Underwood since March 2017, Illinois ranks 16th all-time in winning percentage and 14th all-time in wins between all NCAA Division I men's college basketball programs.

Oladimeji always dreamed of playing Illini basketball and felt that God was telling him he would play there. "I didn't know how it would happen," he said, "but it happened."

Humble and soft-spoken Oladimeji lived in Rolling Meadows where he played on the Fremd basketball B team his freshman year as a center for the team. His dreams of playing college basketball motivated his academic success in high school where he earned a 3.75 GPA and scored a 29 on the ACT.

His AAU basketball coach, Rob Hudson of Schaumburg-based Big3 Sports, saw his potential immediately.

"He loved basketball and he always wanted to get better. No one could match his work ethic. He always asked questions."

Working with him since his sophomore year, Hudson would give him rides to the gym to train and practice.

"He had a lot of raw athleticism, but was not very coordinated or skilled yet," Hudson remembers, "To play in college, he would really have to develop his game to become a wing player- to be a shooting guard or small forward."

Playing AAU basketball forced him to become more versatile. "It forced him out of his comfort zone."

His four years at Fremd were spent for the most part as a bench player, starting 2-3 games his senior year. His respect for Coach Rob, though only a few years older than him, kept him motivated. He needed someone to believe in him.

Mom, Somi, agrees, "Coach Hudson -that really really changed him- and taught him. He didn't know Samson - and he helped him. I love Hudson- God bless him!"

By being developed and getting the opportunity to play in the position that he was truly meant to play, Oladimeji dominated for Big 3. A year after joining the program, he was averaging double-doubles and became known to dunk on defenders who dared to challenge him at the rim. A few years later, the right pieces were built around Samson to where Coach Hudson felt that taking the boys out of state for a few tournaments would get them the exposure they needed. It was in a St. Louis, NCAA Certified tournament, the program got the opportunity to play against some of the best talent in the nation. Big 3 ended up facing the St. Louis Eagles in the first round of the playoffs - one of top teams in the nation.

On the sideline watching? Fourty Division 1 coaches.

Oladimeji rose to the occasion with 19 points and 8 rebounds against one of the top prospects in the nation, Jordan Goodwin.

"We were a team of suburban kids - bench players - playing against a highly recruited, national, elite team. And we competed!" said Hudson, "I was proud of the players and proud of Samson."

John Gross, head coach of Illinois at the time, spotted Oladimeji at that game and saw his performance. They remained in touch with each other over the summer and Samson notified him that he was planning on already attending the University of Illinois for academics, and that he wanted to come out for the team in the Fall. Once Samson got to campus they met a few times, then after a 10-day tryout, he was added to the roster as a walk-on.

Mom, Somi recalls getting a text from her friend that said, "Turn on the TV!" She didn't know her son was playing. She saw him on the screen and screamed, "Samson is on TV! Samson is on TV!"

"We thank God," she says.

Also she saw another familiar face on the screen. It was Coach Hudson, who was playing in the exhibition game that University of Illinois played against McKendree University, which he attended, while running his program in the summers. This may have been the first time in history a player, and his Coach played in a nationally televised game.

"It was surreal," said Hudson, "I knew it was fate, who would have ever thought?"

Now into his second year playing with Illinois, Oladimeji says that things are going well academically. And as far as athletics, he's earned some playing time in games. Also this summer he put on 30 lbs. of muscle. He has been training hard to be able to compete at one of the highest levels of basketball.

Oladimeji credits those who supported him and his faith, "I owe a lot to Coach Rob at Big3 basketball. And Jesus."

When asked what advice he would give other suburban basketball players, he quickly answers, "Make sure they have God. Without God, none of this is possible. Also being at the right place at the right time- it's not a coincidence."