Olajuwon’s Name Translates to ‘Always Being on Top,’ and It Seems to Fit Him Well

His former University of Houston teammates called him “Jelly” because of his affinity to jelly beans, and “The Dream,” because he took the Cougars to the NCAA Final Four three straight years.

Lately, in his second season with the National Basketball Assn. Houston Rockets, Akeem Olajuwon has been called “The Nigerian Nightstalker.”

The best pseudonym, however, might be the English translation of his surname from his native Nigerian dialect. Olajuwon says his last name translates to “always being on top.”

The nicknames change but Olajuwon’s game hasn’t.

He still thrills the crowd by grabbing a defensive rebound, passing off and racing the length of the court to follow through with a slam dunk.

Olajuwon remains a menace around the opponent’s goal, rejecting some shots and altering the trajectories of others.

He’s there in the clutch.

And Olajuwon is getting better.

In his rookie season with the Rockets, Olajuwon was runner-up to Chicago’s Michael Jordan for rookie-of-the-year honors.

He ranked fourth in the NBA with 11.9 rebounds, second with an average of 2.69 blocked shots and 25th with a 20.6 scoring average.

This season, Olajuwon is averaging 24.7 points, fourth in the league, fifth in rebounding with an average of 11.8 rebounds per game and third with 3.05 blocked shots.

“I have more confidence now,” Olajuwon said. “I know what it’s all about, what to expect from the other players. Last year, I was just feeling my way along.”

Rockets Coach Bill Fitch noticed from preseason camp that Olajuwon had made great progress.

“He will be a great one,” Fitch said. “He’s got that ability to dig down in the last two minutes. He’s played with fouls, he’s played with pain.

“He’s just the kind of player that pressure doesn’t seem to bother.”

Olajuwon’s desire came through in the closing minutes of a recent victory over Phoenix that wasn’t decided until the closing seconds when he scored two baskets and grabbed a key steal with one minute to play.

“There are a lot of players that want the ball in the clutch, but they don’t go get it,” Fitch said. “But there are others that will kill their own teammates to get the ball.”

That’s Olajuwon.

“He’s just started to become more aware of what’s going on and not just running up and down the court,” Rockets teammate Robert Reid said.

Olajuwon continued his assault last Tuesday night with 27 points and 14 rebounds against Utah’s Mark Eaton, last season’s top defensive player.

“He’s by far the best offensive rebounder in the league right now,” Eaton said. “He jumps so well, you have to concentrate on him the whole game.

“Every shot, I try to find him and put my body against him and he still gets the shot. If you’re not aggressive with him it’s 40 points and 20 rebounds.”

And Olajuwon’s points against Eaton weren’t from fade-away jumpers. He went right at his larger opponent.

“It’s not what he did to Eaton, it’s what he’s doing against the entire league,” Utah Coach Frank Layden said.

Olajuwon, who suffered from poor free throw shooting as a collegian, brought the problem with him for his rookie season, hitting only 61.9% cent at the free throw line last season.

This season, after working in the offseason, Olajuwon has been hitting more than 71%.

The 7-footer also has improved in another area--controlling his temper.

A technical foul against Olajuwon in the deciding playoff game against Utah last season helped turned the momentum in favor of the Jazz.

Olajuwon was ejected in the first game this season against Philadelphia. But he’s kept his remarks to himself better than last season.

He declined one suggestion, however, that he speak to the referees in one of the four Nigerian dialects he speaks fluently to prevent technical fouls.

“But they wouldn’t know what I’m saying,” he said.