Oswin Erhunmwunse is one of the most unique prospects in the country, and not just because of his game.
The 6-foot-10 athletic big man moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2022 with little basketball experience and very raw ability. But he quickly blossomed into a nationally-ranked recruit with his standout play for Putnam Science Academy and Team New England/BABC on the AAU circuit.
Erhunmwunse has caught attention with his defensive ability, including some eye-popping, two-handed blocks. The left-handed, rim-rocking center committed to Providence earlier this year as a member of the 2025 class, then reclassified in June to the 2024 class to join the Friars this fall.
We caught up with Isaiah Davis, the co-founder of Team New England and vice president of BABC, to break down Erhunmwunse’s game.
A fast evolution
“Two years ago, he couldn’t run and catch. His hands and his feet weren’t coordinated yet. But the jumping was undeniable. His timing on blocks, his ability to dunk with his chin above the rim. That was kind of undeniable. In the last two years, his development and his progress has been kind of surreal. He’s always been able to block shots and rebound and run the floor, but now he’s really running the floor, he’s really dunking. He dunks on people. He blocks with both hands. … What his skill set is, he’s the best rim protector in the country. I think other than that, it goes back to like, just him as an individual. His hook shot is good, he’s gotten better in his post moves. He’s just an elite dunker, elite defender. He’s the best teammate you can have.”
Offense in progress
“I would say two years ago, he was absolutely raw. His free throws are phenomenal. I think he shoots like 75 percent from the free-throw line. He surprises a lot of people when he does shoot, but he rarely shoots because they’re throwing it up to him. They’re not making him pop and shoot a jump shot, they’re making him roll and throw it up. So, he’s more of a lob threat than anything else. I think the raw aspects of his game are easily his ball handling. Not a lot of bigs can handle the ball, so he needs to improve on that. But as far as his high-post game, he can rip and dunk off of one dribble. Short corner game, he can hit the corner jump shot. And his go-to is his hook shot. He’s got a drop-step hook shot that he’s comfortable with.”
High character
“His smile brightens up the room. Everybody loves Oswin, and that’s a gift and a curse, right? Because everyone loves him, that means everyone wants to be around him and that’s a lot of attention. But at the same time, he’s just a joy to be around. He’s happy. His mother’s a pastor, so he’s religious. He just lives by a different code. … We’ve never had any kind of issue with him.”
What’s his ceiling?
“Pascal Siakam. He’s gotten that comparison a lot. We’ve gotten Robert Williams a lot. Obviously Robert Williams has a bigger body, but from where he is in his game, a bouncy, athletic, rangy kid, I think Pascal has more of an offensive game than Oswin does, but my assumption is that he’s going to go to Providence and because he’s going to be forced to play and play a lot, he’s going to develop much more of an offensive game in college. The crazy part about him is he was only playing basketball a year before he got here. He was a soccer kid, he was a goalie. It’s insane to think about, so in general, I can only imagine, he’s done this in two years and went from no one knowing him to No. 30 (ranking) in the country in his class. I can only imagine if he actually was here for four years.”
Expectations at Providence
“We fully expect when he gets there, for him to be on the All-Defensive team. The hope is for him to be on the All-Rookie team, All-Freshman team for the Big East. He’s going to be an impact player. Part of the reason we went there, not just because it’s close but we know he’s going to play there. At Providence, he’s going to get minutes.”
