Story by
Maryland freshman Baba Oladotun has NBA dreams. His father taught him more.
- Story by
- Maryland freshman Baba Oladotun has NBA dreams. His father taught him more.
(Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun/TNS)
Ibrahim Oladotun had a chair, a basketball and a young son with plenty to learn.
He would sit and rebound while Baba practiced his shooting form. Sometimes, M&M's or McDonald's provided an incentive. Other days, they studied Magic Johnson's no-look passes on video.
Advertisement
Basketball was the activity. Spending time together was the point.
That boy is now a 6-foot-10 Maryland freshman preparing for Monday's opener against Bucknell. At 17, Baba Oladotun is considered one of the nation's most highly regarded basketball prospects, with the NBA already part of the conversation.
His father understands the excitement. He worries about what it might obscure.
"They see a basketball player, and I see a son," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim was 18 when he left Lagos, Nigeria, for the United States around 1987. Basketball took him from Wagner College to Pensacola Junior College and eventually Virginia Tech. But American basketball exposed the limits of his game. He could rebound, defend and operate near the basket. Handling the ball was for smaller players.
Advertisement
"Big man doesn't dribble," Ibrahim said. "That's the era that I grew up in."
He wanted Baba to learn what he hadn't.
The lessons began when Baba was about 2. Ibrahim stressed dribbling with either hand, shooting mechanics and passing. He taught moves inspired by Hakeem Olajuwon but was just as captivated by Johnson's creativity.
His philosophy was "MOB," short for "making others better": The best play wasn't necessarily the one that produced a basket for Baba, but the one that helped a teammate.
Their gym sessions often included Baba's three older sisters — Yemi, Shola and Adeola. Ibrahim devoted much of his summers to his children, and the sisters later drove Baba to practices, helped with homework and prepared meals. Their support, mother Dessire said, freed the parents to devote more time to Baba and younger brother Wale.
Advertisement
Eventually, the boy who followed his father's instructions began writing his own.
Around the pandemic, Baba started organizing workouts and devising drills. At Blake High School, coach Brandon Howell recalled him taking roughly 500 shots before school and 500 afterward, sometimes returning to the gym after games.
"I think I had to create my own routine," Baba said.
Howell saw a family's long-term commitment behind the relentless preparation.
"His father was probably one of the best examples of a father that I've seen in a long time," Howell said. "They stuck to their plan."
Advertisement
When former Maryland star Walt Williams began training Baba as a high school freshman, he found a player whose instincts seemed at odds with his size. Baba could see passes others couldn't and handle the ball like a guard. Recognizing when to shoot was another matter.
"I thought he was too unselfish," Williams said.
They worked on attacking defenders and finishing through contact. Baba listened.
Despite the hours spent practicing, basketball had its place in the Oladotun household. It wasn't first.
Ibrahim and Dessire raised their five children according to three priorities: God, grades and game. Schoolwork came before basketball, and faith before both.
Advertisement
Williams remembers late-night workouts Baba missed because Bible study ran long.
The lessons showed up elsewhere. Dessire recalled Baba buying sneakers for a school security guard who spent long hours standing. Howell remembered him giving shoes to teammates around Christmas.
"He's the first to say I love you," Dessire said.
After reclassifying to graduate a year early, Baba missed most of his final high school season with an ankle injury. Eager to return to the court, he grew impatient. But Ibrahim insisted on a cautious recovery, putting his son's health ahead of basketball.
Ibrahim's most important role then had little to do with the game.
Advertisement
"Just being there as a dad, you know, not there as a coach, not there as a teammate," Baba said. "Just being my dad."
Baba returned for Blake's final two games, tipping in a game-winner in the state semifinals before helping win a state championship.
During Maryland's pursuit of Baba, coach Buzz Williams became just as interested in his upbringing as his basketball talent. He and Ibrahim took two long walks discussing their backgrounds, families and faith, conversations that helped Ibrahim trust the coach with his son's future.
The admiration went both ways.
"They scarred my heart in such a meaningful way," Williams said of Baba's parents at Maryland's media day. "When you go in their home, there is a distinct ambiance of how that mother and father are as husband and wife, and the environment that they're raising their children in is very unique."
Advertisement
Baba attempted 47,236 shots in Maryland's gym during his first seven weeks, according to Williams. That's nearly 6,750 per week, or 964 per day on average.
The habits Ibrahim helped instill had followed Baba to college. And by choosing Maryland over nearby Georgetown, Baba could keep the people who shaped him even closer.
The Oladotuns live in Silver Spring, about 20 minutes from College Park, where Ibrahim operates New America Real Estate LLC. The children grew up helping with the family's rental properties near campus.
Adeola, who studies finance at Maryland, can meet Baba for meals at Yahentamitsi Dining Hall, known as "the Y." Yemi graduated from Maryland in 2025; Shola attends Morgan State.
Advertisement
For Ibrahim, letting go of basketball instruction hasn't been easy.
"It makes me nervous, honestly," he said of entrusting Baba's development to Maryland's staff.
Still, they speak almost daily, pray together by phone and meet for lunch. On Sundays, Ibrahim picks Baba up for services at Capital Rivers Church of Christ, which meets at Wheaton High School.
"My dad has my back no matter what," Baba said. "His unconditional love has always been there."
Sometimes Ibrahim visits campus for just 15 or 20 minutes. No drills to supervise, no shots to rebound. Sometimes he simply wants to give his son a hug.
Advertisement
The boy who once needed his father to rebound for him has grown tall enough to reach his own rebounds.
He hasn't outgrown needing his dad.
Have a news tip? Contact Michael Howes at mhowes@baltsun.com , 410-332-6200 and x.com/Mikephowes .
