The Aidan Igiehon Episode

An Irishman Abroad

Jarlath Regan

Society & Culture, News, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture:personal Journals, Personal Journals, Politics

4.8 • 834 Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2021

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do you go from picking up ball for the first time at 13 years old in a Clondalkin secondary school to becoming one of the most talked about NBA prospects in America? This week, Aidan Igiehon tells Jarlath about this journey and all the bumps along the way. With an incredible honesty Aidan speaks about his phenomenal growth both on and off the court during his teenage years. The Irish Hulk as he is known, was growing an inch a month in one crazy period where his mother sought medical help to slow him down . We also hear about the trip to the Philadelphia 76ers camp that changed everything for him. Aidan opens up about his brutal training regime at the age of 14 upon his arrival in the States when as he puts it, his childhood effectively came to an end due to the level of commitment he had to give to the game. Aidan also explains the importance of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when battling injury. We get the never before told story of the game that changed his life, the 30 scholarship letters that quickly followed it and a candid explanation of why the move to Grand Canyon from Louisville was the best decision for him. Hear the whole fascinating conversation with one of Ireland's fastest rising sports stars by joining us on Patreon. To hear every episode in full and to gain access to the entire back-catalogue of over 500 Irishman Abroad episodes that are not available on iTunes for just the price of a pint every month visit www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad Supplementary research provided by John Meagher. Our charity partner is jigsawonline.ie. In these tricky times, Jigsaw provides a range of resources, advice and care for your people to help them strengthen their mental health and the skills needed to navigate life. Please visit their website and consider making a donation. For updates on future episodes and live shows follow @jarlath on Twitter, visit www.jigser.com or email the show directly on [email protected]. Disclaimer: All materials contained within this podcast are copyright protected. Third party reuse and/or quotation in whole or in part is prohibited unless direct credit and/or hyperlink to the Irishman Abroad podcast is clearly and accurately provided.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was playing defense. Somebody shot a jump shot. I blocked it to half court.
0:05.0	Ran to half court, got it, and I threw down a very thunderous dunk.
0:10.0	Like this is a, like I don't know what had happened, like what was going on in my head,
0:14.0	but this was a 13-year-old soaring through the sky and dunking.
0:17.0	So, you know, everybody was kind of like, who is this kid, you know?
0:21.2	And they were like, yeah, he's, you know, he's this black kid from Ireland. So all of a sudden,
0:24.7	the next day, I'm playing a game and all these coaches are here. It was Oak Hill, dumbath,
0:31.3	which is very, very good prestigious schools for basketball here. So they're talking to me, and they're like, Aidan, you know, we think you should stay in
0:39.3	America.
0:40.2	And I'm kind of giggling.
0:41.7	Like, I mean, I'd love to.
0:42.7	It's America.
0:43.4	But I don't think, like, my mom would let me do that.
0:47.1	Yeah, I live in Dublin.
0:48.5	I live in Dublin.
0:49.7	You know what I'm saying. So, I mean, I'll tell you this, as soon as I came to the United States and I
0:54.3	stayed here, my childhood ended. It was June of 2014 and 13-year-old Aidan I Geyhan packed his
1:02.2	bags and said goodbye to his mother and boarded a flight across the Atlantic Ocean to New York
1:07.1	City. At the time, he was 6'4 and anyone with eyes could see the potential. Nobody knew he would grow to 610, 235 pounds, consistently averaged 20 plus points per game, 15 rebounds a game, win a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country, and earn enough buzz to be touted as the first Irish player of his generation
1:29.3	with the potential to go to the NBA.
1:32.3	But that is exactly the spot that everyone wants.
1:37.3	The competition is ferocious, as you'll hear.
	...

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