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Nov. 10—Michael Ajayi is just two games into his senior season at Gonzaga, but it’s clear he’s going to make a serious run at becoming the team’s rebounding and floor-burn leader.
Ajayi’s shot wasn’t falling Sunday as often as it usually does, but he connected on a key first-half 3-pointer and a layup that bumped GU’s lead to 75-71 with 3:42 remaining. It’s the other stat categories where Ajayi made his presence felt in the Zags’ 88-80 victory over Arizona State.
Ajayi collected 12 rebounds, helping initiate GU’s running game, and four offensive boards that created second-chance opportunities.
The Pepperdine transfer added three steals in a 6 1/2 -minute stretch in the second half, two assists and one block. Ajayi was one of the few Zags that had some luck defensively against forward Basheer Jihad, who led the Sun Devils with 22 points after scoring just five combined in ASU’s first two games.
“Think about that run in the first half,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We were kind of in a little lull and he got in there and he just did what Mike does. He just plays with great energy. He just assumes every ball is his once it hits the rim and he goes flying in there. That’s another quality we haven’t had on our last couple teams. We needed everyone (of Ajayi’s 12 rebounds). They were really isolating No. 8 (Jihad) and a lot of the guys didn’t have an answer. He made a big stop there.”
Gonzaga witnessed Ajayi’s versatile skill set from the opposing bench as the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 17.2 points and 9.9 in his junior year at Pepperdine.
“Coming into the Spokane Arena (for the GU-Pepperdine game) last year, he flew in for that first rebound and it was like, ‘Oh no,’ ” Zags assistant coach Brian Michaelson said. “We were pretty certain we were getting a high energy guy, a guy that brings it every day. The nice thing about Mike is he’ll be like that in the middle of the week.”
Michaelson said Ajayi’s best quality goes beyond the numbers.
“Just his desire to learn is really cool,”…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michael-ajayis-around-effort-helps-030300686.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2024-11-11 03:03:00
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