Isaac Likekele (born February 25, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Kouvot of Korisliiga. Listed at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and 215 pounds (98 kg), he plays the point guard position. He played college basketball at Oklahoma State and Ohio State.
 Likekele with Ohio State in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 13 – Kouvot | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Point guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | Korisliiga | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | February 25, 2000 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 2023: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2023–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Fyllingen BBK | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Kouvot | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
editLikekele was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Sarah and Serge Likekele.[1] He attended Mansfield Timberview High School, where in his senior year averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game. In 2017, Likekele led his team to the Texas 5A state championship.[2] A three-star prospect, he was accepted to attend Oklahoma State University in May 2018.[3]
College career
editOklahoma State
editAs a freshman at Oklahoma State, Likekele averaged 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.[4] In November 2019, Oklahoma State won the NIT Season Tip-Off against Ole Miss; Likekele was named to the All-Tournament Team.[5] Despite missing most of December with an illness, Likekele posted three triple-doubles and had 21 points in the Big 12 Tournament first round win over Iowa State. In the 2019–20 season he played 28 games and started all of them, averaging 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and a team-high 4.5 assists per game. Likekele was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.[6]
Ohio State
editOn May 4, 2022, Likelele announced on Twitter that he was transferring to Ohio State.[7]
Professional career
editAfter not being selected in the 2023 NBA draft, Likekele signed with Norwegian club Fyllingen BBK. He averaged 19.7 points, 12 rebounds, and 8.1 assists per game. On June 18, 2024, Isaac Likekele signed a one-season contract with Finnish club Kouvot.[8]
National team career
editLikekele won a gold medal with the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Heraklion. He averaged 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.[9]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Oklahoma State | 32 | 32 | 28.9 | .466 | .240 | .657 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 1.3 | .3 | 8.7 |
| 2019–20 | Oklahoma State | 28 | 28 | 32.4 | .460 | .214 | .661 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 1.9 | .4 | 10.9 |
| 2020–21 | Oklahoma State | 24 | 20 | 33.8 | .482 | .444 | .570 | 6.6 | 3.6 | 1.1 | .2 | 9.1 |
| Career | 84 | 80 | 31.5 | .468 | .298 | .635 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .3 | 9.6 | |
Personal life
editLikekele marks both of his sneakers with a black marker in honor of his deceased grandfather, his friend Criston King (who died in an automobile accident), and best friend John Lee. Likekele says, "Me going out there and playing like that is paying respects to them...".[10] Likekele has two sisters, Faith and Hope.
References
edit- ^ "Isaac Likekele - 2019-20 - Men's Basketball". Oklahoma State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Isaac Likekele". www.usab.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- ^ "Isaac Likekele, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Point Guard". 247Sports. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Dwyer, Danielle (2019-07-17). "OSU's Isaac Likekele back from winning gold medal with USA Basketball". OKC Fox.com. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Hart, Hallie. "Cowboys dominate Ole Miss to win NIT Season Tip-Off in New York". O'colly.com. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
- ^ Nagel, Cody (2020-04-20). "Report: Isaac Likekele to return to Oklahoma State next season". 247 sports. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ "Tweet". Twitter.
- ^ "Kouvot lands Isaac Likekele ex Fyllingen". Eurobasket. June 18, 2024. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ "Isaac LIKEKELE". FIBA. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
- ^ "'That's what I do it for': Why OSU guard Isaac Likekele is driven to honor lost loved ones with heart and sole". Oklahoman.com. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
External links
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