Festus Ezeli Class: RS Junior Hometown: Benin City, Nigeria High School: Igbinedion Education Center Height / Weight: 6-11 / 255 Position: C

General:
Nigeria native who was a late signee for Vanderbilt in the summer of 2007... Redshirted in 2007-08... Added bulk to his frame during his redshirt season and dramatically improved his feel for the game during practice... Named Most Improved Player by Vanderbilt players at the end-of-the-year banquet in 2008... Changed his number from one to three for his redshirt freshman season...Expected to fill in for the departed A.J. Ogilvy in the starting role at center.

2009-10 (Redshirt Sophomore):
Played in 32 games, made five starts, and averaged 12.7 minutes per game...Primarily served as A.J. Ogilvy's backup at center, where he averaged 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game...His 43 blocks is the sixth-best single season total in the history of the program...Had three or more blocks seven times, including a career-best four block performance against Manhattan on 12/30...Scored in double figures on two occasions - vs. Tennessee State (12/19) and Middle Tennessee State (1/4), when he scored a career-high 10 points in each of the games...Grabbed a career-high seven rebounds against Mississippi State on 2/3...Led the team in field goal percentage at 54.4% (49-90)...Tallied two points, three rebounds and a blocked shot in 14 minutes of action in season opener against Lipscomb (11/16)... Went 1-for-1 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from the line to finish with five points and four boards in win over DePaul (12/5)... Scored seven points while pulling down four boards in second start of the season against Western Kentucky (12/11)... Tied a season-high in points (10) and had a season best five FG made (5) against Tennessee State.. Blocked a career-high four shots vs. Manhattan (12/30)... Chipped in eight points on 4-of-6 shooting while blocking three shots in 15 minutes vs. Southern Miss (1/2)... Tied or set season high in points (10), field goals (5) and minutes (21) against MTSU (1/4)... Recorded five points and two blocks in 14 minutes vs. South Carolina (1/16)... Tallied four points, five rebounds and a block shot in 16 minutes of action against Tennessee (1/27)... Posted five points (2-3 FG) and seven rebounds in win over Mississippi State (2/3)... Scored four points and pulled down five rebounds in seven minutes of action in win over Ole Miss (2/18)... Scored four points (2-of-2 FG) and pulled down six rebounds in 15 minutes vs. Georgia (2/25)... Scored two points on (1-of-1) FG in win at Arkansas (2/27)... Saw eight minutes of action in win at Florida (3/2)... Scored two points in 11 minutes off the bench in final regular season game vs. South Carolina (3/6)... Provided a big boost off the bench in SEC semifinal game against Mississippi State, recording eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes.

2008-09 (Redshirt Freshman):
Played in 29 games and made six starts...Averaged 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game in 12.4 minutes of action...Recorded first career points and first career rebounds in first career start against Morehead State...Tallied first blocked shots against Morehead St...Posted seven points and five rebounds in 16 minutes against Illinois...Scored career-best 11 points vs. C. Arkansas (11/26)... Tallied career highs in rebounds (6) and blocks (3) in reserve role against Ga. Tech (12/6)... Posted eight points and two rebounds in win over Alabama A&M... Scored five points in four minutes against Furman (12/22)... Posted a six-point and five rebound effort in third career start against St. Francis (12/31)... Tied his season-high for blocked shots with three in win over UMass (1/3)... Tallied two points and four rebounds in season-high 24 minutes vs. Kentucky... Notched seven points in 11 minutes off the bench vs. Auburn. The 7 pts vs. Auburn is the most vs. an SEC team this year...Started sixth game of his career vs. Alabama (2/5)... Tallied four points on 2-of-2 shooting vs. Kentucky (2/17)... Recorded four points on 2-of-3 shooting in 8 minutes vs. LSU (3/4)... Scored second-highest point total of career with 10 points in 17 minutes vs. Arkansas... Tied a career-high with three blocked shots against the Razorbacks (3/8).

2007-08 (Freshman):
Redshirted.

Summer 2007:
Has never played traditional organized basketball...caught the eye of college recruiters playing AAU basketball for the Sacramento Pharoahs in summer of 2007 when he averaged ten points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks per game.

Personal:
Ifeanyi Festus Ezeli-Ndelue... Born October 21, 1989...Son of Festus, Sr., and Patricia... Has three brothers, Ik, Chucky, and Kenny, and one sister, Oby... Majoring in Biology... Graduated from Igbinedion Secondary School in Nigeria at the age of 14...Moved to the United States in 2004... Advice to youngsters: "Enjoy being young"... Chose Vanderbilt over Florida, Connecticut, West Virginia, Minnesota, Pacific, UC-Santa Barbara, Nevada, Reno, Creighton, South Florida, and UNLV.