Nicola Akele

Nicola Akele (born 7 November 1995) is an Italian-Congolese professional basketball player for Universo Treviso of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Rhode Island Rams.

Nicola Akele
Akele with Vanoli Cremona in January 2020
No. 45 – Universo Treviso Basket
PositionPower forward
LeagueLega Basket Serie A
Personal information
Born (1995-11-07) 7 November 1995
Treviso, Italy
NationalityItalian / Congolese
Listed height2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight98 kg (216 lb)
Career information
High schoolIMG Academy
(Bradenton, Florida)
CollegeRhode Island (2015–2018)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2013–2014Reyer Venezia
2018–2019Roseto Sharks
2019–2020Vanoli Cremona
2020–presentUniverso Treviso

Early life and career

Akele started playing basketball at age six, joining Basket Montebelluna, and also grew up playing football.[1] Akele later played for Serie B club Bears Mestre before moving to the youth categories of Reyer Venezia. He missed half of the 2012–13 season with heart issues and started playing regularly for Reyer's senior team in the Serie A in the following year.[2] In June 2014, Akele was loaned to Pallacanestro Trieste of the Serie A2 but did not play due to a contract dispute with Reyer.[3]

For his next season, Akele attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where he played for one of the best prep teams in the United States. He helped his team to a 23–4 record and a National Prep School Championship berth.[4] On 9 May 2015, Akele committed to play college basketball for Rhode Island over offers from South Florida, George Washington and George Mason.[5]

College career
Akele (left) competes for a rebound with Providence's Jalen Lindsey in December 2016

Akele played three years of college basketball for Rhode Island. On 4 January 2016, he was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week after averaging eight points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in wins over Brown and Saint Louis.[6] Akele scored a freshman season-high and a career-high 15 points in a 79–62 victory over La Salle.[7] Over three years at Rhode Island, he averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game, starting in six of his 96 appearances. Akele left after his junior season to play professionally in Italy.[8]

Professional career

On 4 September 2018, Akele signed with Roseto Sharks of the Serie A2 Basket. He recorded a season-high 34 points and 10 rebounds in a December 2 win over Ravenna. In the 2018–19 season, he averaged 13.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.[9] On 11 June 2019, Akele signed a three-year contract with Vanoli Cremona of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[10] On 24 December, he was named the top Italian player in Round 14 after posting a season-high 21 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 93–72 win over Varese.[11] In 2019–20, Akele averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in the LBA.[12] On 25 June 2020, he signed with Universo Treviso Basket of the LBA.[13]

National team career

Akele represented Italy at various junior international tournaments from 2011 to 2015. In February 2020, he made his senior team debut after being called up to the Italy team for EuroBasket 2021 qualification.[14] Akele made a second appearance for the Italian Nation Team in EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in November 2020.

Personal life

Akele's family descends from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. His parents moved to Italy in the 1990s.[15]

References
  1. "Due chiacchiere con Nicola Akele" (in Italian). Vanoli Basket. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Bortoluzzi, Davide (10 March 2014). "The Akele case". Eurohopes. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  3. "Nicola Akele al Corriere dello Sport: "Tradito dalla Reyer", la società: "Tutto falso"". La Voce di Venezia (in Italian). 10 October 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  4. "Nicola Akele". Rhode Island Athletics. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  5. Koch, Bill (9 May 2015). "Italian forward Akele commits to URI". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  6. "Nicola Akele Named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week". Rhode Island Athletics. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. Koch, Bill (8 February 2016). "Freshman Nicola Akele giving URI a much-needed boost". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. "Akele Leaves URI Basketball to Play Professionally in Italy". GoLocalProv. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. Talamazzi, Michele (11 June 2018). "Il primo acquisto della Vanoli Basket è Nicola Akele: accordo fino al 2022" (in Italian). Vanoli Basket. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  10. "La Vanoli ingaggia l'ex rosetano Nicola Akele" (in Italian). Basketinside. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  11. "Nicola Akele è il Miglior Italiano 'Snaipay' del 14° turno LBA Serie A" (in Italian). Lega Basket Serie A. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  12. "Nicola Akele". Playbasket.it. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  13. Yahyabeyoğlu, Fersu (25 June 2020). "Treviso inks Nicola Akele". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  14. "Italy's Romeo Sacchetti calls up 16 players for EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers". EuroHoops. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  15. Talamazzi, Michele (18 June 2019). "Il neo acquisto Nicola Akele: "La Vanoli è la scelta giusta per me"" (in Italian). Vanoli Basket. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
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