Born and raised on Tyneside, Serios Group Newcastle Eagles Academy graduate Tosan Evbuomwan discusses rise from the north-east to the NBA.
Sat in New York soaking up the 2023 NBA Draft with his agent, family, and close friends, the 22-year-old Geordie Tosan Evbuomwan was on the verge of achieving a goal he’d only set for himself at the end of 2020: signing for an NBA franchise.
There in and of itself is the true talent of Evbuomwan – if
he sets his mind to something, he does it, usually with distinction and at a
rate few people can fathom. After first bouncing a ball competitively for the
Newcastle Eagles Academy just eight years prior, to be on the verge of the NBA
within a decade is an incredible feat that speaks to the man.
After declaring for the Draft in the Spring, ready to move on from the NCAA with a list of Princeton and Ivy League records and accolades as long as his 6’9” frame is, Tosan was a few months away from the promised land of the NBA. He has since signed an Exhibit-10 Contract with the 2004 Champions, the Detroit Pistons.
“Teenage me wouldn’t have believed that I could achieve
this.” Evbuomwan said, speaking exclusively to the British Basketball League
about his journey.
“When I was young, doing things like I’ve been able to do in
the last few months and years wasn’t even on my radar, but that’s totally fine
– I wouldn’t tell that teenager to change. Everybody’s path is different and if
achieving this had been a focus of mine when I was younger, maybe I wouldn’t be
where I am today.
“I know it’s easy to say when things look as if they’ve
worked out, but everybody’s journey is different. As long as you enjoy it, work
hard, put your head down, make those things important to you, then you’ll get
to where you want to go.”
“When you put a
basketball in his hands, he can dominate as much as anybody.” Ian Macleod.
A gifted football player, Evbuomwan was on the books of Premier League football side Newcastle United from the age of seven until 11, but left their academy behind because he just wanted to enjoy his sport and football ‘got a bit too serious, too quickly’.
Crediting his dad, Isaac, as an influence for him taking his
talents to basketball a couple of years later with the Eagles, Evbuomwan had
always had a hoop in his back garden but admits to rarely using it as the hoop
was more his father’s passion – having played himself.
“My earliest recollections of Tosan are of a very quiet 14-year-old kid coming into our academy.” Former Eagles Head Coach Ian Macleod said of Evbuomwan.
“When he joined the club, he only spent a few weeks in our
community program before moving into the academy set-up, which is quite
uncommon. Even more uncommon for someone quiet and reserved like Tosan.
“He wasn’t shy, far from it, and especially not on the
court. He’s still very much like that to this day: quiet and reserved in of himself
but when you put a basketball in his hands, he can dominate a game as much as
anybody.”
Evbuomwan describes Macleod as one of the more influential figures in his formative years, alongside current Caledonia Gladiators Assistant Coach Alan Keane and the Newcastle Knights’ Head Coach in the NBL, Ian Hewitt, prior to his adventure to the States, where he credits his coaches at Princeton for enabling such an successful transition to the NCAA.
At 6’9”, Evbuomwan has as well-rounded a skillset as he could hope for, with impressive feel, vision and IQ for the game, the development of which he credits equally to Macleod and the Eagles academy’s guidance, Keane’s method of coaching at Great Britain, and the opportunities Hewitt gave him with the Knights to play significant minutes as a point guard.
“By the end of my
freshman year … the NBA became a real goal” Tosan Evbuomwan.
It wasn’t until 17 that the prospect of the NCAA was on the young
Brit’s radar. Despite his obvious gifts, Evbuomwan insists he has always played
purely for the enjoyment of the game, but in conversation with him and those
close to him, you can tell there has always been an underlying ambition to make
the most of where his talents could take him. Even upon arriving in the NCAA at
18 with Princeton, though, the NBA wasn’t a goal.
“I remember the goal I set myself going to Princeton was
just to make the most of the experience academically and through basketball.” Evbuomwan
said.
“But by the end of my freshman year (2019/20) I’d realised
how good I could become, so the NBA became a real goal. I was influenced by
other people as well, seeing guys around me that I had competed with being
drafted, such as Miye Oni and Devin Cannady, so it was a combination of different
things leading me to pursue the NBA.”
Tosan Evbuomwan Career Honours |
NBA Draft Combine Invitee (2023) |
NCAA South Region All-Tournament Team (2023) |
Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2023) |
Ivy League All-Tournament Team (2023, 2022) |
Ivy League Player of the Year (2022) |
NABC District 13 First Team (2023, 2022) |
First Team All-Ivy League (2023, 2022) |
First Team All-ECAC (2023) |
MVP, London Basketball Classic (2022) |
Academic All-Ivy League (2023) |
CSC Academic All-District (2023) |
NABC Honors Court (2023, 2022) |
Asheville Championship All-Tournament Team (2021) |
Selected to England 3×3 Training Camp Squad (2021) |
Ivy League Rookie of the Week (Jan. 13, 2020) |
#1 Most Assists in a Season for Princeton, 161 (2022-23) |
#3 Most Assists in a Season for Princeton, 142 (2021-22) |
#6 Princeton Career Assists, 323 |
#34 Princeton Career Points (1,033) |
During Evbuomwan’s freshman year, the world came to a stop due
to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to him returning home to the north-east to
continue his studies online until basketball resumed in the States.
It was a crucial point of growth, though, for the youngster
as Macleod brought his academy graduate back in to compete with the Eagles
senior team preparing for the new season.
Evbuomwan’s match-up in those practice sessions was none
other than Justin Gordon – one of the greatest athletes the League has seen,
certainly in recent times, who was entering the prime of his career.
The young Geordie competed incredibly well against his more
experienced opponent, and it was a moment both Evbuomwan and Macleod identified
in our conversations with them as a real confidence boost for them both in
believing that Tosan could play at the highest level.
“If seeing me, a kid
from Newcastle … can inspire people back home, then I’m happy.” – Tosan
Evbuomwan.
His following season in college was a breakout campaign.
Every month, it seemed, news filtered back to the UK of Evbuomwan achieving
career-highs, setting program and conference records and just generally
excelling like the previous 18 months had led him to believe he could.
With that came a newfound level of attention, which the
forward has been inspired to embrace in the hope it can have a positive impact
on youngsters back home in the UK.
“For me, personally, the spotlight was an adjustment because
I’m a private individual and wasn’t used to it, but I just embrace the
positives at this point. If seeing me, a kid born and raised in Newcastle,
doing what I’m doing, can inspire people back home, then I’m happy to have that
attention for those reasons.
“I benefitted from that growing up seeing other people do
it, so now to be in that position for others is special. Everybody likes to be
recognized and it is cool seeing that stuff, especially early in my career, but
you’ve got to make sure it doesn’t influence you negatively.”
After toying with declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft, before
reconsidering due to requiring shoulder surgery, Evbuomwan finally put his name
forward in 2023 having guided Princeton to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA
Tournament.
The British forward enjoyed workouts for 17 of the 30 teams
in the NBA during the pre-draft process, including the Los Angeles Lakers and
the Pistons – where has since signed – and starred at the annual Draft Combine
in Chicago.
“The whole experience was just so cool. I worked out with so
many teams, seeing each team’s facility and how they do things; it was all a
great experience and something I tried to take in. You’re working out in some
of the best facilities in the world, competing against some of the best young
prospects around, so just being in the mix of all of that was special.
“The Draft Combine was a big highlight, getting the call-up
for that and having the opportunity to show what I could do. My schedule pre-Draft
was super busy, having workouts three times a week all over the country, but it
was an incredible experience. I definitely don’t take any of the last few
months for granted.”
Feeling he could have gone anywhere in the Second Round of
the Draft or be undrafted and picked up later, as was the case for Evbuomwan, the
22-year-old headed into Summer League with the Pistons ready to make the most
of his opportunity.
“What lays ahead is a
big step … but I don’t go into it with any fear.” – Tosan Evbuomwan.
Finishing as Detroit’s most productive Summer League player
in terms of plus-minus (leading all his teammates with +52 in five games), the
Pistons signed Evbuomwan to an Exhibit-10 contract for the upcoming season, but
with training camp coming up the former Great Britain junior is excited for the
challenge of competing to show his worth.
“I just want to take advantage of everything around me, to
be honest. When you’ve got these facilities, coaches and teammates around to
help you improve, you need to use them to the best of your ability.
“There are facilities and things I’ve been able to use to
improve my game over in the US that I’d never seen or knew existed during my
time at home, so just making the most of that is a focus. Taking care of my
body and nutrition is also at the top of the list.
“What lays ahead is a big step and a huge opportunity for
me, but I don’t go into it with any fear. There are going to be a lot of
challenges ahead and I’m excited to be a part of them and compete.”
For Evbuomwan to start his basketball adventure so late, at
the age of 14, and scale the heights he already has done in less than a decade
is nothing short of remarkable, but Coach Macleod details the lesser-known
elements of his former player’s success that he hopes young players across the
country can learn from as they follow his NBA adventure.
“What most people who have followed Tosan over the last few
years will see is the highlights he’s made and the records he’s broken in
college, as well as more recently in the Draft Combine and Summer League.
“What they don’t see and won’t know about is his application
to everything around those big moments that makes them happen. As well as being
a student on the court, he is a great academic. He had 10 A*’s at GCSE and four
A’s at A-Level with SAT scores for Princeton that were incredible as well.
“He was committed and able to balance being a top-class
student with a top-class athlete, but he balances his family and personal life
very well too, and is very responsible for every aspect of his life. That’s what
I hope kids watching him will learn from his journey.”
“We need to have the
youngest kids falling in love with the game.” – Ian Macleod.
So where is the next Tosan coming from? What do the British
Basketball League franchises and other clubs across the country need to do to
ensure there’s a conveyor belt of elite homegrown talent coming through the
ranks and growing the game at home as well as the British Basketball brand
across the world? Coach Macleod had his say.
“We need to need to stop focusing on academies and believing
they’re the answer, because most of those don’t start until players are 12, 13
or 14 years old, which is very late. We need to focus on three-, four- or
five-year-old kids.
“We need the youngest kids falling in love with the game and
starting to play as young as they can. Every team in the league needs to aspire
to have kids fall in love with the game as early as possible and get a ball in
their hands, and it’ll snowball from there.
“We worry about elite coaching and academies, but if we get
a critical mass of kids playing at a younger age, that’s the quickest way to
develop the nation in basketball and produce more players like Tosan and others
who have proven they can compete at the highest level.”
As for the man of the moment, Evbuomwan has rightly earned
an endless amount of plaudits over the years for his journey – not just that
which we’ve seen in the spotlight of the NCAA in recent years, but long before
then in the north-east with Newcastle and GB.
To those observing and being inspired by Tosan and his
journey, he had a simple message for them all, filled with wise words beyond
his years that all of us can aspire to live by.
“My motivation throughout my life has always been pretty
internal – I motivate myself and push myself more than anybody else could – but
my message is just to reiterate you need to enjoy the journey. Yes, you need to
work hard but you need to enjoy it too and not put too much pressure on
yourself. If you do that, you’ll be surprised how far you can go.
“Not everybody can be an NBA player or be a superstar, but
if you stick to those principles of working hard and enjoying the journey while
you do it then you’ll be surprised with how far you can go with things. If you
really want it, you’ll make the sacrifices.
“I found it easy when I was younger to make excuses, but
it’s just about finding a way to maximise what you have and knowing that the
road to getting to your goals isn’t easy. There are people that have come
before all of us that have shown us what is possible. You’ve just got to be
willing to work for it.
“I didn’t know when I was in the UK that this could or would
happen for me, so I wasn’t putting that kind of pressure on myself to reach the
NBA – all I expected of myself was to work hard, believe in myself and enjoy
the journey, and it has served me pretty well so far.”