Xavier landed a commitment from the 6’9″, 240-lb big man from Southern Illinois! His interior presence is a different style from Nwoko’s big bruising presence, making him a great addition for a change of pace in the backup role! Aligbe was a sophomore last year, giving him 2 years of eligibility remaining!
What to Expect on the Court:
Rolyns played 24.5 minutes per game this year, averaging 9.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists. He added a steal per game, 0.6 blocks, and fouled just 2.5 times per outing. His turnover rate of 13.8% is fair, especially for the big man position. His shooting splits last year were 50% from 2, 35% from deep, and 68% from the FT line. He is a legitimate threat to space the floor, shooting 69 3’s on the year. However, that area of his game is still a work in progress and within the right system, I believe he can keep similar or better efficiency numbers. When inside the arc, he took 146 attempts at the rim, making 53% of them. However, he made just 9-25 (36%) attempts from mid-range. When diving into the advanced metrics, Rolyns is clearly a positive defensive add, while being more of a neutral offensive addition. He was in the top 5% of division 1 in defensive rebounding last year, a number Muskie fans will be happy to hear! He also had an elite adjusted defensive rating of 96.6 (top 7% in the nation), which shows he’s able to clearly be an impactful defender. Adding in a block and a steal per game shows he’s able to disrupt the ball on multiple areas. Looking at year over year improvement, he clearly improved this year, which is expected from freshman to sophomore year, indicating he’s still developing.
Season Highlights
He had 7 games this year with 10+ rebounds, including 2 performances with 16 rebounds. His biggest scoring performance of the year was a 21/10 game vs. Northern Iowa in January.
Player Comparison:
One name that stood out during my evaluation was Michael Ajayi (Butler). To be clear: Ajayi was a more polished offensive threat, but their shared DNA is found in their relentless motor. Both are elite rebounders—Ajayi averaged 10.5 boards in Big East play, while Aligbe ranks in the top 5% nationally in defensive rebounding. Aligbe brings that same ‘out-work the jersey across from you’ mentality that made Ajayi such a headache to gameplan against. The key difference? Aligbe offers a more specialized defensive upside, giving coach Pitino a versatile, switchable piece in the frontcourt that can disrupt multiple positions.
This is a great depth piece with some tremendous upside and a likelihood of an impact this year and a larger impact next year.
