Key matchup: Washington native Michael Ajayi leading Pepperdine, WCC in scoring ahead of Gonzaga matchup
Three months ago, if someone had compiled a list of the top projected scorers in the West Coast Conference, it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see names like Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s), Graham Ike (Gonzaga) or Tyler Robertson (Portland).
Pepperdine’s Michael Ajayi, meanwhile, wouldn’t have been one of the top two candidates on his own team, which returned junior guard Houston Mallette, a 13.3 point-per-game scorer the past two years with the Waves, and preseason all-conference forward Jevon Porter, who was coming off a promising freshman season for Lorenzo Romar’s program.
Mallette’s still one of the conference’s elite scorers and Porter’s starting to find his rhythm after recovering from an injury, but it’s Ajayi, a junior college transfer from Kent, Washington, who’s leading Pepperdine – and the WCC at large – in scoring through nonconference play, averaging 17.3 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Waves (7-8).
After playing just one season of varsity basketball at Kentwood High School, Ajayi didn’t field much Division I interest and spent the past two seasons honing his skills at Puyallup’s Pierce College. Ajayi registered a double-double in all 14 Northwest Athletic Conference games he played last season, scored 78 points over a two-game stretch against Highline and South Puget Sound, and hauled down 26 rebounds in another game against Centralia.
Not lacking in ties to the Pacific Northwest, Romar, the longtime University of Washington coach, brought Ajayi to Malibu, California, as a replacement for departing wing Maxwell Lewis, the 40th overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft (Los Angeles Lakers).
Through only 15 games, Ajayi could have a chance to be Pepperdine’s next NBA-bound wing, following in the footsteps of Lewis and the Brooklyn Nets’ Kessler Edwards. The junior is tied for fourth in the country with eight double-doubles and became the first WCC player to make 100 field goals this season when he scored 17 points in an 83-47 blowout of NAIA Westcliff last Friday.
Ajayi’s garnering NBA draft buzz, appearing as a guest on a recent episode of the popular “No Ceilings NBA” podcast, and has received endorsements from former pros and Seattle-area products Isaiah Thomas and Jamal Crawford.
Ajayi is an efficient 3-point shooter, making 55% of his shots this season on 2.4 attempts per game. Most of the junior’s work is done taking defenders off the dribble and slashing to the basket. He scored a season-high 31 points in an 82-68 loss to UNLV, but has reached at least 25 on three other occasions.
With Porter still on a minute restriction, Gonzaga can probably afford to shift more of its defensive attention to Ajayi on Thursday at the Arena. Fifth-year senior forward Anton Watson has had his share of encounters with NBA wings from Pepperdine over the years and should be matched up with Ajayi the majority of the time, particularly when Porter is on the bench.