By Ross Wilson

When Deji Babalola isn't in the classroom improving on his stellar 3.5 grade point average, he's on the court contributing to the accomplishments of the Pennsauken Indians basketball squad. The talented guard is one of the finest scholar-athletes in South Jersey.

Babalola was born in Nigeria and came to the United States when he was 10 months old. He's been playing basketball since he was about nine years old and is a fan of Kobe Bryant's smooth play on the court.

"Kobe's confidence is what I like. I feel that I've improved my confidence on the court also, and that's helped to make me a better player. I'm more confident taking (the ball) to the hole, my outside shot is good, and I think I'm able to make better decisions when I have the ball. My average is up 6 points from last year and I feel that I'm doing everything I can to help the team win," said Babalola.

Although Babalola is being wooed by a number of schools, he's currently undecided on which he will attend. He's hopeful of getting a scholarship, but hasn't ruled out trying to walk on if his scholarship dreams fall though.

"I will walk on, but I don't want to go to school worrying about if I'm going to make it on the team or not. I want to play."

With big man Kyle Frazier and forward Tyrone Rucker aiding in the Pennsauken attack, Babalola will have a lot more games to play for the Indians before the season comes to an end. After that, Babalola will certainly be playing at a good school… somewhere.
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