Iowa seniors tell stories, set records

IOWA CITY - To know Josh Oglesby is to know he's sincere, self-deprecating and once in a while says something he can never take back.

Take for instance an early encounter with fellow seniors Aaron White and Gabe Olaseni at an Iowa City restaurant. The trio had just met and in their conversation. Oglesby asked a question of the London-born Olaseni that he'll never get back.

'He actually said this: He said, ‘Did you speak much English before you came to America?'” Olaseni said. 'From that point on I was like, ‘Wow, this guy might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he definitely is kind hearted.' Very early on, I knew we were friends for life.”

White said there are 'so many Josh stories” concerning verbal slip-ups, but the English story 'is by far my favorite.”

'He knew right away that he said something crazy,” White said.

Oglesby had the chance to defend himself on Thursday. He wondered what was said and how many stories were repeated.

'Is this like the dumb things I say?” he asked. 'Probably not 10, probably five. Ten is pushing it.

'I could say a couple things about Gabe, but I'll leave that to myself.”

With their banter, those three seniors are like every group of guys in any age group. The knock each other, tell stories (most of which can't be repeated publicly) but it's all endearment. As high-profile athletes, they form a tight bond and their accomplishments rank highly in Iowa basketball history entering their final home game Saturday.

The seniors have won 58 home games in their four-year career, the most in school history. White, a Strongsville, Ohio native, is tied with Greg Stokes for third in Iowa career scoring with 1,768 points. Olaseni (593 career points) is a strong candidate for the Big Ten's sixth man of the year award with 8.5 points. 4.9 rebounds and 44 blocked shots this season. Oglesby, a Cedar Rapids Washington graduate, has faced highs and lows during his career. Oglesby (630 career points) scored 24 points at Indiana as a freshman and hit four crucial 3-pointers last Saturday in an overtime win at Penn State.

The seniors paced Iowa to its third straight 20-win season and the team is likely to pick up its second consecutive NCAA tournament berth. The players competed in the postseason all four years at Iowa, ending a five-season drought. Average attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was 11,635 the season before their arrival. This year it stands at 14,025.

'People can ask about personal accolades, stats ... but the most proud I am is how much the program has changed in my four years since I've been here,” White said. 'I'm not putting that on my shoulders or the senior class' shoulders, but I think we had a big part of it.

'We've turned it around, not only locally but nationally, I think. That's my proudest thing I've done here.”

That's part of the seniors' legacy. Just like Oglesby's story.

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