Achiuwa named AAC’S top player
Precious Achiuwa pulled off a couple of firsts Wednesday.
Fresh off earning a unanimous all-aac First Team selection, the 6foot-9 forward was voted the league’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year by its 12 coaches. Achiuwa is the first player in the conference’s seven-season history to win both awards in the same year. He is the first Tiger to score AAC Player of the Year honors, while joining former Memphis standouts Austin Nichols, Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson as AAC Freshman of the Year winners.
Achiuwa is the first Tiger to win conference player of the year honors since Joe Jackson in 2013, Memphis’ last year as part of Conference USA.
Cincinnati redshirt senior Tre Scott claimed the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and the Sportsmanship Award. Sixth Man of the Year went to Tulsa senior Martins Igbanu and the Golden Hurricane’s Frank Haith was named AAC Coach of the Year.
Achiuwa, the only freshman in the country currently averaging a double-double (15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds), averaged 16.6 points and 11.2 rebounds in 18 AAC games. He’s also blocking 1.9 shots a game. With 18 double-doubles, Achiuwa is tied for the seventh-most in single-season history at Memphis. That number is also tied for 16th all-time at Memphis.
Achiuwa emigrated to Queens, N.Y., from Nigeria when he was 14 years old. From there, he moved to Florida where he finished his high school career at Montverde Academy in 2019.
“I wasn’t really expecting anything coming into this season,” Achiuwa said Tuesday after he became the only unanimous all-aac First Team selection. “I just came to play and do whatever it takes to win.”
Keith Lee — a four-time AP Allamerican and Memphis’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder — is the only other Tiger to win conference player and freshman (or newcomer) of the year awards in the same season. A star in the Metro Conference, Lee pulled it off in 1982, when he scored 18.3 points a game, to go along with 11.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks on average.
Like Lee, who was the Chicago Bulls’ 11th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, Achiuwa has a chance to be a top-15 selection on June 25. The
6-foot-9 has been included on many NBA mock drafts even before enrolling at Memphis. Most recently, ESPN’S Jonathan Givony projects Achiuwa as the 19th overall pick. CBS Sports has him going 25th, while Bleacher Report projects him as the 13th pick and Forbes forecasts Achiuwa going 12th overall.
“He’s a great athlete, who plays hard, as I’ve said about the rest of them,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said after Achiuwa led the Tigers to a win over the Shockers on March 5. “But he’s a notch above. I mean, that guy, is a specimen. He really can play. He’s a tremendous athlete. Seems to be a great kid. Plays really hard.”
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway didn’t take long to respond when asked Tuesday about the most underrated part of Achiuwa’s game.
“They don’t take into account that he’s relentless,” Hardaway said. “He just will not give in. When they try to send a double-team at him or have two guys box him out, he’s telling other guys, ‘You can go because I have two on me.’ But he’ll eventually find a way to beat those two to get the ball. He’s just not going to stop.”
Achiuwa and the Tigers (21-10) begin play at 9 p.m. Thursday against ECU at the AAC Tournament.