With the close of the regular season coming this weekend, Senior Day festivities are going on all over the country as schools honor their players that will be moving on from the program next season.
But Texas A&M had a unique Senior Day celebration on Saturday as the Aggies honored former high school signee Tobi Oyedeji, a 6-foot-8 forward who was killed in a head-on car crash while coming home from his high school senior prom on May 16, 2010. Oyedeji was 17-years-old.
Oyedeji never received a chance to play basketball for the Aggies, and was recruited by former Texas A&M coach and current Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, but Oyedeji still has a strong legacy at the school and was honored by the program and head coach Billy Kennedy on Senior Day along with Aggie seniors Fabyon Harris, Blake McDonald and Peyton Carrell.
Tobi Oyedeji's parents on the court to accept his Jersey for senior day. Emotional and awesome moment at Reed Arena just now.
— Aubrey Bloom (@aubreybloom) March 8, 2014
Many of Oyedeji’s former coaches and teammates spoke of his high character and tremendous work ethic and he likely would have been an immediate contributor on-the-court for the Aggies as a freshman. Aubrey Bloom of the Bryan/College Station Eagle penned a nice piece on Oyedeji, while the Texas A&M athletics department also honored the fallen high school star with a tribute of its own.
This is a really fantastic gesture by the Texas A&M athletics department to honor Tobi Oyedeji on Senior Day. It’s nice of the Aggies to give Oyedeji’s parents, who lost their only child in the accident, another opportunity to celebrate his life.