Following another successful and competitive season, the Bear Men's Basketball program had yet another big step forward as five Bears recently signed with four-year schools.
Fazl Oshodi heads to Baton Rouge, LA and will play for Southern University, Hami Ndiaye will suit up for Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, Daylen Thomas moves on to LSU-Alexandria, LeVionne Lindsey will go to Catawba College and Tylik Weeks makes the short drive east to Hattiesburg and Southern Miss.
Among the five who signed, Oshodi was the lone freshman. The Swedesboro, New Jersey-native made a big splash with the Bears during the 2024-25 campaign finishing third on the team in scoring (363 points, 12.5 ppg) and led the team in free-throw percentage at 82.3 %.
He admits that signing with the Jaguars was something that was several months in the making.
"(Southern Head) Coach (Kevin) Johnson and (Assistant) Coach (Jethro) Hillman, they invited me to one of the camps and they invited me to practice with the team and they just showed me so much love throughout the season," Oshodi said. "I came down for a visit and committed. I fell in love with the culture and the team."
Oshodi adds that even though it was only for one season, he was very thankful for his time at Southwest where he not only shined on the court but also in the classroom where he became a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society.
"I told myself that before I came here that I was going to study hard and get a full scholarship to play basketball somewhere," he said. "It's been good down here."
Another individual from the northeast who took advantage of one year at Southwest was Ndiaye. The transfer from Southern Connecticut State became a force on the defensive end finishing with 2.0 blocks and 10.7 rebounds per game to go along with a 6.6 points per game average.
He said that signing with the Running Bulldogs was important due to their need at the position.
"They saw me play and saw what I had to offer and their situation is a little bit different now because they are graduating their whole front court so every opportunity for minutes is open in the front court," he said. "Honestly it was just the perfect situation for me."
The move not only puts the Massachusetts-native back on the East Coast but also keeps him in the south in North Carolina. Ndiaye admits that making his way to the south and to Mississippi has been beneficial to him.
"Honestly this is the longest that I've been in the south and it is just really different from where I'm from," he said. "And I really appreciated the differences. Being in a different environment, it really gives you time to reflect and my time here has done nothing but help me grow."
Like Oshodi and Ndiaye, Weeks came to Southwest from the northeast. The New York City-native put together a very strong two-years in Summit finishing as the Bears all-time leading scorer with 1,128 points.
Weeks chose to sign with the Golden Eagles over several Division I offers. For him, he said that it was just a fit in Hattiesburg.
"I had over 20 Division I offers and at the end of the day, I stayed consistent and talked with my people and at the end of the day, I made the right choice," he said. "They have been my first offer and I stayed to my roots."
During his time at Southwest, Weeks specialized in being a "point forward", yet when he gets to Southern Miss and suits up for Coach Jay Ladner, he said that he may transition to a slightly different position.
"When I talked to Coach Ladner, he said just be yourself, I'm recruiting you to be yourself," Weeks said. "I think that I am going to play the wing more but I think that I am going to move to the three."
Another front court player who took advantage of their time at Southwest was Franklin County's Daylen Thomas. The forward made jump in his sophomore campaign becoming a bigger piece in the rotation and finishing with 4.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Thomas majored in welding at Southwest and was set to enter the work force upon graduation but said that LSU-Alexandria and a renewed sense and love of the game entered the picture.
"It happened earlier in the season," he said. "I started falling back in love again with the game of basketball and I talked to God and my parents about it."
Thomas adds that he chose to sign with the Generals over offers from two schools in Arkansas and one in Boston. In addition to it being a fit for him, one of the factors that helped Thomas choose LSU-A was the proximity of his house.
He said that his time at Southwest and the road to getting to Alexandria was a challenge but it is a journey that he is grateful for.
"It wasn't easy and there were a lot of hard times," Thomas said. "I'm very thankful for my time at Southwest and the people that I had around me to build me and push me."
Like Thomas, Lindsey was a player who improved his game during his sophomore campaign. Lindsey became one of the primary ball-handlers along with Weeks. Lindsey said that he looks at the move to Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina as a challenge but one he is ready for.
"It is going to be a new environment, I haven't really ever been that far (from home)," he said. "I think that I am ready."
Lindsey, a Northwest Rankin graduate, said that he chose to sign with the Indians over offers from others schools including a couple of HBCU programs in addition to other Division II teams.
"Catawba, when I went there, it felt like home," Lindsey said. "I got there, I met the coaches and the people there and it was the right fit for me."
Lindsey was second on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest.
Southwest head coach Corey Schmidt was very pleased to see five of his players move on to four-year teams.
"We talk about this all the time how JUCO is a stepping stone and not the final destination," he said. "Having three guys on the Division I level, LeVionne signing with a Division II team that was in the NCAA Tournament last year and Daylen on the No. 1 NAIA team in the country, it is a special moment, I am really excited."
