BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tyson Oghene’s journey began 4,082 miles from Bob Kirk Arena. After rewriting the record books in Cumberland, the next chapter will be at the highest level of college basketball.
The Allegany College of Maryland standout will play Division 1 basketball at Canisius University next year.
He committed on May 3, choosing the Golden Griffins over offers from New Hampshire, Florida A&M and Marist.
“When I went on a visit, they really sounded like they believed in me and had a plan for me to be great,” Oghene said.
Oghene hails from Malmo, the third largest city in Sweden.
Sweden isn’t known as a basketball hotspot, especially compared to other countries in Europe.
However, 20 players on a Division I roster in the 2023-24 season hail from Sweden.
“Basketball’s not that big, definitely some clubs, definitely people playing, but just one real pro league,” Oghene said. “Other than that, it’s not that popular, hockey and soccer are getting the shine.”
Sweden’s much more known for producing hockey talent.
Of the 405 National Hockey League players from Sweden, 100 were on a roster this season.
Only three players from Sweden have played in the National Basketball Association.
Jonas Jerebko is the only one to play more than two seasons. He was drafted 39th overall in 2010 by the Detroit Pistons and played nine NBA seasons.
When he was 14-years-old, Oghene moved from Sweden to Hagerstown to play for St. Maria Goretti.
A family friend, Elijah Clarence, played for Goretti and went on to play at Division I Illinois State.
Clarence has spent the last six years playing overseas, most recently for Atomeromu SE of Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A, the top professional league in Hungary.
After graduating high school in 2022, Oghene was originally committed to Division II Fairmont State.
After the offer fell through, Oghene enrolled at ACM and spent two seasons as a Trojan.
As a sophomore, he averaged 20.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Oghene knocked down 104 3-pointers, eighth-most nationally and scored 667 points which was ninth-best.
His 20.2 points a night was the 25th best mark in the country.
Against Monroe College in the East District semifinals, Oghene broke a pair of 3-point records at Allegany.
He surpassed Mike Renfro with 204 career 3-pointers and 104 in a single season.
Renfro held the career record since 1997 and the single season mark since 1996.
Oghene said the 3-point mark was the record he’s proudest of.
“That’s a thing no one’s broken in a long time,” Oghene said. “I was happy to be the one to break it.”
On Feb. 5 at Northern Virginia, Oghene surpassed 1,000 career points as a Trojan.
He became the 21st overall and finished with 1,190 points, 12th most in program history.
Oghene also shot 82.4% at the free throw line in his career, the second-best percentage behind Jeremy Snyder’s 83.8%.
He was a first-team All-NJCAA Region 20 and All-MD Juco selection and an honorable mention Division I All-American.
Oghene was also one of 24 players selected as a NJCAA All-Star, playing for the South team on May 18 in Las Vegas.
He played 11 minutes and scored three points with a rebound.
“It was great experience, I’ve never been on the west coast,” Oghene said. “It was cool to see new places and being able to play with other great players and kinda get recognized and appreciated.”
Oghene’s former ACM teammate Tekao Carpenter, representing Moberly Area and committed to Austin Peay, also played in the game.
Carpenter scored 11 points with five rebounds.
“Tekao’s my boy, we had a lot of talks about going DI, doing what we’re doing now,” Oghene said. “We spoke a lot of into existence, we were talking about how we went from Allegany to Vegas. It was just amazing to see how we all came together at the end.”
Oghene was a key contributor in the 2023-24 Allegany squad that won the Region 20 and East District titles for the first time since 2019.
The Trojans appeared in the NJCAA national tournament, also for the first time in five seasons.
ACM’s season ended against Cowley in the first round, losing 87-64.
Late in the first half, Oghene got a scratch in his eye and did not return.
“I still had faith in my guys, but it was tough not being able to play those last couple minutes,” Oghene said.
Oghene heads to Buffalo and joins a Golden Griffins squad coming off a 14-18 season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Canisius hasn’t had a winning record since 2017 and last played in the NCAA tournament in 1996.
“Tyson brings a lot to our program,” Canisius head coach Jim Christian said in a press release. “His ability to score is obvious when you look at the stats, but what does not show up on a box score is his toughness. He is a hard-nosed player who is ready to play hard from start to finish. I am excited to add this young man to our program.”
In Oghene’s two seasons at Allegany, the Trojans went 50-18 overall.
Oghene said he hopes to bring a winning culture to Canisius.
“I’m trying to come in and win, that’s what I’m used to at the JUCO level,” Oghene said. “That’s what I’m gonna try to do, bring a winning culture to it. They have a new coach saying the same thing, he wants to come in and win, he’s not there to rebuild, sit on his job. He wants to win the MAAC, it’s a very winnable league.”