By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
Josh Oduro has had his share of great moments this season.
The Providence grad student first opened eyes around the BIG EAST with a 29-point performance versus Lehigh back in November. But he really started to blossom into an elite player in the conference after Bryce Hopkins was lost for the season with an ACL injury.
There was a 22-point performance in a win over Georgetown in late January and three straight monster outings in February when he lit up then-No.19 Creighton for a season-high 32 points while adding 28-point and 27-point nights in wins over St. John’s and DePaul, respectively.
But Oduro’s greatest moment this season came on February 10 at exactly 11 a.m. That’s when Josh and his wife, Caroline, welcomed a new addition to the Oduro family starting lineup - their son Gabriel.
Suddenly Oduro’s life became a lot more than basketball and school work.
“Oh no doubt it’s been crazy,” said Oduro, a transfer from George Mason who came to Providence along with new Friars’ head coach Kim English. “It’s hard to put into words, but I love being a dad and I love my son and it’s been a great experience. It definitely makes life a lot fuller. My priorities have shifted a little bit. What I was playing for before has kind of changed. Now I’m doing it more for my wife and for my son and try to make sure that I do my work in a way that honors them and puts them first.”
Nerves didn’t seem to be a problem for Oduro as fatherhood approached. Just three days before Gabriel’s arrival is when Josh lit up Creighton. Then after missing a game at Butler to be at Gabriel’s birth, Josh poured in those 28 points against the Johnnies. Four days later, he torched DePaul. All three games were Providence wins, by the way.
Gabriel is barely three weeks old and new parents Josh and Caroline are still trying to figure some things out. But a routine is developing, Oduro says.
“(Gabriel) is still trying to figure out what his routine is,” Oduro said. “Most nights he sleeps pretty well. He only wakes up maybe two or three times. But when he wakes up in the morning that’s his big feeding time and then he’ll go back to sleep for a while. Then me and Caroline will have our breakfast and get ready for our days. My days haven’t changed that much, they’re not a whole lot different. I still get my workouts in, I go to practice and get my treatment. But as soon as all that is finished I’m running back home to go change some diapers and take care of my son.”
Oduro is sitting in the top 10 in multiple BIG EAST categories this season. His 16.3 points a game place him seventh in conference while his 7.0 rebounds puts him in ninth place. He is also fifth in both blocks per game (1.4) and field goal percentage (.562). But there is one area where he is in a category all his own that no other Friar can touch.
Changing diapers.
“Probably like 10 times a day!,” Oduro said laughing. “(Food) just goes right through him. But I had (changed diapers) a couple of times with my little cousins so I was a little familiar with doing it.”
Oduro admits it’s hard leaving Caroline and Gabriel for games, especially when the Friars hit the road. But he’s also learning to adapt to that as well.
“He definitely does pop into my head sometimes when I’m taking care of business,” Oduro said. “But I don’t really look at it as a distraction. It’s more of a motivation. So I kind of like it when he pops into my head and also when my wife does, too. It makes me feel more fulfilled when I can perform the way I want to because I know that I’m doing it for them. It is tough, though. But you just have to put it out of your mind and worry about the task at hand and that’s what I try to do when I’m playing games.”
Oduro said Gabriel has not made his way into the Friars’ locker room yet where he will be greeted by eager “uncles” like Devin Carter, Ticket Gaines and Jayden Pierre and company.
“Not yet. We’ve been giving him time to get his immunity,” Oduro said. “But any day now I’m going to bring him into the facility and show him off to everybody.”
Oduro said that day could come as early as Saturday’s home game vs. Villanova. If not, then he said they will look to have Gabriel’s coming out party at the regular-season finale vs. UConn on March 9.
One member of the Friars family who won’t be given an honorary uncle title is head coach Kim English. You see he already has a title other than coach as Josh and Caroline named English as Gabriel’s godfather.
“Coach means a lot to me. The last two years we’ve really had a chance to grow both on the court and off the court and connect on a deeper level,” Oduro said. “He’s had the chance to get to know me and my family in a pretty deep way and I’ve really got to know him and the kind of man that he is. The stand-up dude he has been. The way he has taken me under his wing and really helped me throughout my career. I know the kind of man he is and that’s who I want in my child’s life.”
Oduro said English was beaming when asked to be the godfather.
“He was ecstatic,” Oduro said. “It was definitely a little emotional, but it was a great moment for the two of us.”
Providence is set to host Villanova Saturday at noon ET and maybe, just maybe, Caroline and Gabriel will make it to the Amica Mutual Pavilion as well to see Josh and the Friars in action. And if so, might Gabriel be rocking some Friars gear for his first game?
“He already is,” Oduro said laughing. “He already is.”