Mike Akinrola ’13 was an outstanding center on Rhode Island College's men's basketball team from 2008-12. Over the course of his career, he played on three Little East Regular Season Championship teams, two Tournament title winners and in the NCAA Div. III Tournament four times.
He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Rhode Island College in 2013.
The Woonsocket, R.I. native closed out his four-year career having played in 81 games, starting 57 of them. He totaled 1,084 points, 424 rebounds, 42 blocked shots, 39 steals and 33 assists in his career. He averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for his career. He ranks sixth all-time at RIC in career field goal percentage (.574).
As a senior in 2011-2012, Akinrola was named First Team All-Little East for the second straight season, while also being named Third Team All-Northeast Region by D3Hoops.com. The center played in 30 games, starting 29 of them. He led the Anchormen in scoring and rebounding with 18.1 points and 6.8 boards per game, while also chipping in with 22 blocked shots and 21 steals on the year. He posted a career-high 36 points at Western Connecticut on Jan. 24, while also tallying a season-high 13 rebounds in that same game. He handed out a season-high four assists against Western Connecticut on Feb. 14, while blocking a season-high three shots and recording a season-high three steals on two separate occasions. Following that performance, Akinrola was named the Little East Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week and to the D3Hoops.com Team of the Week as well.
He also finished among the top five in the Little East Conference in points, rebounds and field goal percentage. On Feb. 21, he became the 31st player in program history to record 1,000 career points in a win over Plymouth State. Akinrola posted double-digit scoring efforts in 28 of the 30 games, which included the final 17 games of the season. He also accumulated five double-doubles on the year.
As a junior in 2010-2011, Akinrola was named First Team All-Little East, Second Team All-ECAC, the Little East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and team MVP. He played in 28 games, starting all of them. Akinrola averaged 14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 0.4 steals per game. He turned in 22 double-digit scoring nights, seven games of 20 points or more and two double-doubles. Akinrola scored a season-high 26 points in a Nov. 30 win at Johnson and Wales.
His most significant performance came in the form of 23 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in RIC's victory over Keene State in a historic semifinal game of the 2011 Little East Tournament. In that game, Akinrola famously connected on “The Murray Center Miracle,” a buzzer-beating three-pointer off an intentionally-missed free throw to force the second overtime and eventual victory. The shot likely saved the season for the Anchormen, who would have otherwise needed a scarce at-large bid to make the NCAA Tournament. Akinrola was also named Little East Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 30.
As a sophomore in 2009-2010, Akinrola played in 14 games. He averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 steals per game. Akinrola had season-highs of 21 points at Amherst on Feb. 2 and nine rebounds vs. Rutgers-Newark on March 5.
As a freshman in 2008-2009, Akinrola played in nine games. He averaged 1.1 points and 1.0 rebound per game. Akinrola recorded season-highs of four points and four rebounds at UMass Boston on Dec. 6.
