Aziz is looking to carry on the family legacy of basketball while making a name for himself along the way.
The son of former Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon made his college commitment, as the 6’7” Aziz Olajuwon decided on Stanford University over the weekend. Aziz was considered a top 40 nationwide recruit for 2026.
The small forward averaged 16.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his last set of games over the summer playing for Team Canada in the Under 19 World Cup, and will be carrying on his father’s legacy of top notch play on the hardcourt when he moves on the Cardinals. Olajuwon reportedly had his choice between multiple programs, including his father’s alma mater the University of Houston, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati and of course Stanford.
Olajuwon had this to say about his choice:
“I chose Stanford because the coaching staff made it clear they are about me not just as an athlete, but as a person. That meant a lot in the process.
“Coach Smith and really the whole staff are people who really invest in their players, on and off the coourt. Their passion, leadership and ability to connect with the teams made a huge impression on me.”
Olajuwon is heading to a program that is on the come up, finishing with a 21-14 record last season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is full of longtime basketball powerhouse schools like Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest, and the University of North Carolina, and also some extremely strong second-tier programs such as Boston College, University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Florida State. That was the Cardinals’ first 20-win season since 2019-2020. Adding one of the nation’s top four-star recruits with ties to one of the game’s all-time greatest players is going to make the Cardinals a team to watch moving forward.
Congrats to the Olajuwons. I’ll be looking forward to college basketball as always, but I’ll be keeping an extra close eye on Satndford these days now as well.
Category: General Sports
