Texas A&M recruit Tobi Oyedeji killed in a car crash after his high school prom

Its every parents worst nightmare.

Tobi Oyedeji texted his father early Sunday morning to tell them that he was on his way home after dropping off his last friend at 5:53 am after a school sponsored prom after party.

Oyedeji, a 6'9" forward from Bellaire High School in Texas who was signed to play next season at Texas A&M, never made it home. Around 6:15 am, he lost control of his car, striking another car in in the lane next to him before veering into oncoming traffic, colliding head-on with a Jeep. The driver of the Jeep was pronounced dead at the scene. Oyedeji was pronounced dead at the hospital a couple of hours later.

Oyedeji is in the white jersey.
(photo credit: Houston Chronicle)

This is a tragedy of unspeakable proportions.

And it has very little to do with basketball.

Texas A&M isn't exactly a blue blood program, but earning a scholarship to play any sport at the D1 level makes you an elite athlete, let alone playing basketball in the Big XII. But there was more to this kid than simply being really good at putting an orange ball into an 18" metal circle.

Oyedeji wasn't just an athlete, he was a student, and a very good one at that. Mark Turgeon, Texas A&M's head coach, said he was going to become an engineer. It only seems fitting that the last game that Oyedeji played in was the Academic All-American game, where he was named MVP.

By all accounts, this was a fantastic young man.

"He was going to be a big part of our program," Turgeon told Andy Katz. "More than just basketball, his personality, his character, he would have helped us in so many ways. He was a great student. He epitomized the values we have here."

"I don't know if we're really grieving for his past or because of such a bright future that will never be fulfilled," said Bellaire head coach Bruce Glover in an interview with FOX 26 in Houston. "On the court Tobi reminded me of (Boston Celtics star) Kevin Garnett. I mean he had that fierce competitive edge, but off the court he's the kind of kid if you're daughter says 'dad I'm getting married' and she brings this guy in for the very first time, he would win you over."

Scout's Evan Daniels tweeted this afternoon "Can't believe the news of Tobi Oyedjis passing. Was fortunate enough to spend some time around him and he was a great kid w/ a ...A great attitude. He was always joking around and always wanted to know what it took to get better. He will be missed by many."

This will certainly affect Bellaire high school and that basketball team long after the reporters leave. And it will undoubtedly be a rallying point for the Texas A&M program. Oyedeji was the first kid Turgeon recruited at Texas A&M. He's had a relationship with Oyedeji for three years, as the 18 year old has visited the College Station campus over 15 times since he first attended a basketball camp there. (Glover said that the school with retire Oyedeji's jersey before their first game next season, and Turgeon said that Texas A&M will honor him in some way, but has not yet made a decision on what that will be.)

This wasn't a player with one eye on the NBA and one foot out the door. This wasn't a kid that was signed two weeks ago. Oyedeji was already a part of this Aggie team.

But the pain won't stem from what Oyedeji did in the past.

It comes from seeing such a bright future extinguished in the blink of an eye. It comes from not knowing what he could have been.

Eventually, everyone is going to have to deal with the loss of a loved one in some shape or form. Death is a part of life. But there is no way that you can mentally be prepared for something like this during what should be such a happy time. Oyedeji was two weeks away from graduating, and less than a month from heading to Texas A&M to begin working out with the basketball team and taking summer courses.

I've dealt with more than my share of loss in the past year, both expected and unexpected. Its horrible. But I cannot fathom the depth of the grief that Oyedeji's parents must be going through right now.

He was an only child.

My sincerest condolences go out to Mike and Nikki Oyedeji, and anyone else whose life was touched by this young man.


RIP Tobi Oyedeji