Rolyns Aligbe Chooses SIU
Last weekend, Winchendon School/Minnesota Spartans Elite 6’9” forward Rolyns Aligbe announced his commitment to Southern Illinois. The decision came despite also receiving offers from Central CT State and SIU-Edwardsville.
Aligbe came to New England from Minnesota, where he was ranked a top-25 recruit for the class of 2023, transferring from local prep school power Minnehaha Academy to The Winchendon School in Massachusetts to do a post-grad year and compete in the elite NEPSAC Class-AA.
He impressed throughout the season, earning recognition for his performance at events with some of the nation’s top prospects. He started the season strong, tallying 22 in a NEPSAC-AA win over St. George’s at the ZG Prep Classic, also scoring 29 in a win over Williston Northampton soon after. Just over a week later, he dropped 33 in a huge NEPSAC-AA win over a stacked Brimmer & May.
He really stood out at the Scholar Roundball Classic, charting two double-doubles with a 25-point/15-rebound performance in a tight battle with Bradford Christian, who would go on to win the NEPSAC-AA Championship, as well as a 16-point/11-rebound performance in a tough loss to NEPSAC-A power Tabor Academy.
Aligbe was also dominant at the HoopHall Prep Showcase, leading Winchendon with 17 points in another close NEPSAC-AA battle, this time with historic powerhouse Northfield Mount Hermon. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and denied two shot attempts on the defensive end.
He was a consistent scorer all the way through the season, leading Winchendon with 20 in an enormous NEPSAC-AA playoff win over a talent-filled CATS to advance to the semifinals. He was ultimately named to the All-NEPSAC Class-AA First Team for his performance throughout the year.
It’s safe to say that Rolyns Aligbe had one of the most dominant post-grad seasons in all of New England prep basketball this year. It will be exciting to follow along as he takes his talents to Carbondale, IL to compete at the Division I level with the SIU Salukis.
Rolyns Aligbe