CHICAGO - A bullpup doesn't usually grow to become a tiger, but that's exactly what happened to Collins Akowe who transitioned from NU-Nazareth high school to college at the University of Santo Tomas.
From juniors MVP just six months ago, he is now a rookie Foreign Student Athlete (FSA) and ready to conquer Season 88 of the UAAP.
"I'm just gonna do my thing. I'm just gonna do the Collins Akowe thing," he said.
READ Akowe continues chase for ever-elusive championship now with UST
In case you didn't know, the so-called "Collins Akowe thing" is averaging 20,8 points and 19,2 rebounds a game, which he accomplished in Season 87 of the UAAP Boys Basketball Tournament.
Whether he can carry those numbers in the collegiate level is a big "IF" but rival teams would be wise not to take his remarks as idle, harmless threat.
A CHILD TRAPPED IN A MAN'S BODY.
Collins may still be a kid at age 19, but he is a grown man in physique, 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds according to one unofficial online listing.
In other words, Akowe barely fits in a bathroom stall and he can make 6-foot-10, 245-lb center Quentin Millora-Brown look like just one of the guys.
But this is what piqued my interest in the Nigerian man-child: Why is he at UST and not at NU where he had a decorated run of back-to-back Finals appearances?
Isn't the idea of grassroots growing your own talents and harvesting them when it's time?
From what I'm told, the Bulldogs decided that Akowe wasn't ripe yet and that his dominance in high school might not necessarily translate in college.
So the team opted to go with Omar John, a 22-year old who isn't a pushover at 6-foot-10 and 222 pounds.
HE WANTS TO PLAY NOW, NOT LATER.
Collins understood that but he didn't want to wait his turn as lead FSA, either. Which is why he left, reluctantly.
At UST, Collins found a home with a promise of enormous playing time plus a lucrative deal that included a lucrative bonus and allowance.
Season 88 may be Akowe's first foray but for this batch of glorious Growling Tigers, this campaign is "The Last Ride" in so many ways.
Forthsky Padrigao and Nic Cabanero are both graduating with Padrigao supposedly bound for the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
Coach Pido Jarencio and his acerbic tongue could be gone, too.
But the biggest loss for UST at the end of this season is the looming departure of San Miguel Corp. as the program's chief booster, a source with knowledge of the development told me.
The nostalgia of last year's Final Four run could spur these Tigers. By the same token, some deadends down the short road can discourage them.
What's it gonna be?
Your guess is as good as mine.
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