Sep 15, 2016 3 min read

Prince Oduro came to Washington to start his junior year of high school as part of First Love Christian Academy’s new boys basketball team a year ago an aspiring Division I basketball player. Now he’s a future Division I basketball player.

Oduro, a 6-8, 230-pound power forward from Canada, committed to Siena College Thursday. He chose the Saints, who compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), over 17 other D-I offers. He is the first player from First Love, a non-PIAA school located in the former Patten grade school building in South Strabane Township, to commit to to a D-I program.

Oduro previously had described himself as “leaning towards (Siena) the hardest” because of the intensity with which the school had pursued him since making a scholarship offer in at the end of April. According to First Love head coach Khayree Wilson, the Siena coaching staff had a presence at every one of Oduro’s AAU games this summer.

Siena assistant coach Greg Manning also visited with Oduro’s family at their home in Toronto yesterday.

“They’ve been there every step of the way,” Wilson said. “They were making it known that he was their first priority and you could really tell that they care bout the kid.”

Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos’ pitch to Oduro also reasonated with the player. Oduro took an official campus visit in early June.

“He’s mainly focused on my development as a player,” Oduro said then. “He didn’t really talk about winning games. He made it more about me and my future.”

Patsos also touched on turning Oduro into a more versatile player, a transformation he had already spent time starting.

I’m trying to be a threat in the post and then also on the wing,” Oduro said, “just play multiple positions.”

With his decision made well ahead of national signing day in May 2017, let alone the start of his senior season in a couple months, Oduro is free to focus on his final high school season. The goal he and his teammates have for the nascent First Love program are lofty, but the players believe they’re reachable.

“Make Nationals,” Oduro said. “Be top 25 in the country.”

The biggest collective goal though is one that Oduro has helped start with his recent announcement.

“Try and send all of our (seven) seniors to D-I schools,” he said.