Vernon Hills’ Daniel Odhiambo is part of a family that lives and breathes soccer.

But the 6-foot-5 Odhiambo is making his mark in basketball. A former soccer standout, he has become one of the best forwards in Lake County.

“I really, really love it now,” he said. “I enjoy coming to practice every day, being with my teammates, even outside the basketball court. I love all of it.”

Odhiambo, who is averaging 17.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his third varsity season for the Cougars (6-1), expects to play basketball in college.

“I didn’t think I’d be here,” he said. “Not a lot of people have this opportunity, so I’m going to take it.”

Born in Milwaukee, Odhiambo moved to Kenya when he was 7 years old and then came back to the United States just before he started high school. All that time, soccer was his favorite sport.

“Soccer was a really big thing (in Kenya),” Odhiambo said. “People didn’t really play basketball. Everywhere you went, people were just playing soccer, so I kept playing soccer.”

Vernon Hills’ Daniel Odhiambo, top, reaches over Niles West’s Devin Macapinlac, left, and Eldin Becovic for a rebound during a Central Suburban North game in Skokie on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Talia Sprague / News-Sun)

Odhiambo recalls playing soccer with his friends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Basketball only entered his consciousness during trips to visit his grandmother in Milwaukee. She took him to Bucks games, where he got to see Giannis Antetokounmpo play.

“I really liked watching him,” Odhiambo said. “I mean, he’s a freak, right?”

Odhiambo joined the Vernon Hills boys soccer team as a freshman, and word of his athleticism spread like wildfire.

“Our soccer coach, Mike McCaulou, had been bragging about him,” Vernon Hills boys basketball coach Matt McCarty said. “He kept saying, ‘There’s a really good athlete on the soccer team.’

“So I investigated a little bit to see if he played basketball, and sure enough, he did.”

Odhiambo technically knew how to play basketball, but it wasn’t pretty.

“I wasn’t very good,” he said. “I was really athletic, but I wasn’t coordinated at all. I was like a baby gazelle.”

Odhiambo joined the freshman B team and instantly emerged as a wrecking ball. At 6-2, he could dunk and block shots like volleyball spikes.

“I really like blocking people,” he said. “That was like the first thing I really started to like, since I could just block everybody.”

But Odhiambo still wasn’t sure about the sport.

“At the start, I didn’t really know how I felt about it,” he said. “I viewed practice as a punishment, as something I had to do.”

As Odhiambo’s freshman season progressed, he became more comfortable. His progress was on full display the following summer, when McCarty realized that Odhiambo had outgrown the lower levels.

“We had a tournament at Barrington, and Daniel was completely dominating,” McCarty said. “He’s got great hands. He can catch and score around the basket — and, of course, he can block shots and protect the rim.

“That was something that we just didn’t have across the board. No one else in the program could do those things. So it was a no-brainer to get him up to varsity.”

Last season, Odhiambo anchored the post for the Cougars, at one point blocking eight shots against Niles West to set the program’s single-game record. He has dazzled teammates.

“His athletic ability shows for itself,” Vernon Hills senior guard Jeremy Zamost said. “He gets tons of blocks, tons of rebounds, and he can dunk the ball.

“But after a loss, he’s the first one to tell us to just worry about the next game and flush our loss. That shows a lot of character from him. He is helping keep the team accountable.”

But Odhiambo knows his game still has room to evolve, particularly his jump shot.

“He’s working on it,” McCarty said.

That’s an understatement. Odhiambo goes to Vernon Hills’ gym at 6:00 a.m. multiple times per week to put up 500-plus shots with McCarty.

“I put him through the wringer,” McCarty said. “He leaves dripping and sweating.”

Each shot — and each bead of sweat — will help push Odhiambo to the next level. He has offers from Division II and Division III programs.

“He’s a great young man, and I know some college will be really thankful to get him,” McCarty said. “He always brings a big smile to my face. He’s got a great demeanor. I’ve never once had an attitude issue with Daniel. He just comes to practice with a smile, and when it’s time to buckle down, he buckles down.”

Sam Brief is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/basketball-vernon-hills-daniel-odhiambo/