Catchin' Up: Texas A&M signee Manny Obaseki
It seems like it was ages ago but in January of this year, which is already almost one year ago, I walked into Allen High School in Dallas, Texas. First and foremost, I was in attendance to watch Manny Obaseki play, second, the gymnasium and the school as a whole reminded me of a college campus and gym.
The crowd? Flooded.
The announcer screams ‘Obaseki’ into the mic during starting lineups and Allen’s crowd exploded. You knew instantly the kind of person Manny was and what his fellow peers thought of him. He’d finish the game with 12 points and five assists and he shot 75% from the field. He didn’t turn the ball over and played a pretty flawless game.
Manny would finish the game how he finished all of his other ones over the past few years. He walked around the halls of Allen and was greeted by nearly hundreds of people. Obaseki was still a five-star recruit who was undecided in his recruitment. Plenty of people walked around the school sporting several Texas universities merchandise.
On March 10th, Obaseki would end up choosing his college destination and he chose Texas A&M. As someone who covered his recruitment since his freshman year, Obaseki has developed drastically and ultimately went from a fringe four-star and is now ranked amongst the Top-25 prospects in the 2021 class and has made a legitimate case to be a McDonald’s All-American.
Buzz Williams made it his priority to see several prospects from Texas the day after he landed on his feet at Texas A&M. One of the first guys he met after he took the job? Manny Obaseki. The two have built a very good relationship, obviously, Buzz is one of the coaches who many consider as a player’s coach.
“Buzz does an amazing job of investing in his players and staff. We play extremely hard and we all are one unit that’s working for one goal and one goal only. He’s known for turning programs around and his trajectory has been really impressive and exciting,” Obaseki told Stockrisers.com.
It’s important to mention just how big of a recruit he is for not only Buzz Williams but Texas A&M as a whole. He’s arguably one of the highest-rated recruits in the modern era for the Aggies. Obaseki, currently rated as the 25th-overall player in the 2021 class, is currently the second-highest ranked Aggies recruit behind Brooklyn Nets center DeAndre Jordan.
He is also a very major recruit for Buzz. He’s one of the highest-rated recruits that Williams has landed over his impressive and illustrious career.
“He tells me to embrace the decision I made and understand how important of the position I’m in right now. He tells me that I’ll be really important to what he’s building over at A&M. He also tells me a lot of life lessons for me down the road in life.”
Obaseki has the tools to be a very successful guard in the SEC. Plays with a lot of intelligence and rarely turns the ball over offensively. His playmaking is something I believe he doesn’t receive enough credit for as he dished five assists per contest last year.
But what are Manny’s thoughts on his game?
“I’ve put a lot of hours into my jump shot off the dribble and the catch. I’ve been working a lot on making reads and my ball handling. I’ve also worked a lot on my body getting stronger and adding muscle.”
So, it has been quite the journey for Obaseki who grew up in Richardson, Texas. He’s the oldest brother and has a younger brother in Eli. Now, he attends John Paul II where he and Texas Tech signee Jaylon Tyson will compete for a state championship.