Robert Nyakundi was a standout basketball player for Southern Methodist University in the years between 2008 and 2012. At 6 foot 8 inches and with an incredibly sharp shooting touch, Nyakundi was a standout player for SMU. During his time at SMU, he led the team in several statistics including scoring and was selected to all Conference USA team.
Nyakundi was born in Arlington Texas. He attended Bowie high school from where was he was recruited by SMU. While in high school, he played for the Dallas Mustangs AAU team. AAU stands for American Athletic Union. It is an organization that selects the best high school basketball players to regional teams. Virtually all NBA players once played for an AAU team. While in high school and at AAU, Nyakundi played power forward where he scored most of his points in the low post.
It was in his junior season that Nyakundi caught the attention of the nation thanks to his incredible 3 point shooting percentage. That season his 3 point shooting percentage was 49.7% making him the second best 3 point shooter in the entire nation. That is quite an achievement considering that there at any given point in time, there are well over 500 NCAA basketball players. That year he nailed 86 three pointers, an SMU record. So outstanding was Nyakundi that Sports Illustastrated , the most popular sports magazine in the USA, featured him in a story.
In his senior season, Nyakundi was selected as the team captain. He was clearly the best player on the team: He started 31 matches and led the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), rebounds (4.8 rpg) and steals (1.1). He was selected to the 3rd team all Conference USA.
Another area where Nyakundi excelled was his free throw percentage. Nyakundi was Mister reliable from the charity stripe, making 84.7% of his freethrows.
There is no doubt that he is one of the best players ever to play for Southern Methodist University. He is second all time at SMU in career 3 point field goals (267), second all time in career 3 point percentage (43.7%), 3rd in games played (123), 12th in games started (91), 15th in points (1353), 21st in steals (97), 25th in FGs made (452)…
His Conference-USA Career Records are equally impressive: 6th in 3FGs (267), 6th in 3FG% (43.4, 267-615)…SMU Season Records: T-2nd in 3FGs (84), 10th in 3FG% (41.4)…2011-12 (Senior):
Aside from being a good shooter, Nyakundi has a high release which makes it difficult to block his shots. His quick release makes it difficult to close on him. He has all round offensive skills with the ability to face up and post up. At 230 pounds, he is deceptively strong.
Career Statistics
| Year | GP | Min | Pts | 3P% | FTA | FT% | TOT | Asts | Stls | TOs | PFs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008/09 | 30 | 17.0 | 6.2 | 39.2 | 0.5 | 81.3 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.3 |
| 2009/10 | 27 | 21.9 | 7.6 | 40.0 | 1.4 | 86.8 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.0 |
| 2010/11 | 35 | 30.6 | 14.3 | 49.7 | 2.3 | 90.0 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 3.1 |
| 2011/12 | 31 | 33.4 | 14.8 | 41.4 | 2.6 | 78.0 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.9 |
Professional Career
Nyakundi declared for the NBA draft but went undrafted. In July of 2012, he begun his professional career when he signed for CSU Asesoft Ploiesti in the Romanian league.
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