18-year-old high school basketball star taking D.C. by storm is really 20

Sam Peel

Sam Peel

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Junior Etou is one of the best available power forwards in the class of 2013. Etou is hearing from a long list of schools, including Clemson, Cincinnati, Xavier and Temple.

And, according to a Deadspin report, Etou will turn 21 this year.

Etou, a 6-foot-7 forward from Bishop O'Connell (Va.), is 18 years old according to his high school, but Deadspin dug deeper after hearing rumblings about Etou's age.


Junior Etou's full name is Luc Tselan Tsiene Etou. He is originally from the Republic of Congo. Turns out that in 2009, Luc Tselan Tsiene Etou played for the Congo Republic national team in the FIBA Africa Championship in Tripoli and Benghazi. The roster for that tournament lists Etou's hometown as Pointe Noire, the second-largest city in the Republic, and his birth date as "4 June 1992." That would make him 20 years old, not 18.

Moreover, two more sources have Etou's birthday as June 4, 1992: the Congo Republic roster from the 2010 U18 Africa Championship, as well as a Basketball Without Borders camp in the summer of 2010.

O'Connell is under the impression that he's 18, though.

“The school has the documentation, including his passport, verifying the age of Junior Etou to be 18,” school President Katy Prebble told Deadspin.

Sources in the D.C. area told CBSSports.com that there has been speculation on Etou's age for much of the season, especially once O'Connell cracked the national top 25 and became a true Washington Catholic Athletic Conference contender this season.

If Etou is found to be 20 years old, it would mean he is too old to play at Bishop O'Connell. Players have to be 18 heading into their senior year in the WCAC.
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Report: Four-star senior Junior Etou is actually 20 years old - CBSSports.com
 
Dark Knyght

Dark Knyght

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Alot of people that emigrate from other countries change their ages so they can get into American schools and programs. I have a co-worker that's 30, whose passport says she's 28 because when she came over her parents wanted her to graduate from an American High School so it would be easier to get into an American College.

Also, if you grew up in a "third world" country and transfer to a US public school, they always try to place you a year or two behind of where you were in your original country. (that USA arrogance :smh:) They tried to do that with my cousin from Jamaica, when he started living with us, but we fought to have him placed in his proper grade. They probably assumed he was 18 because of what grade he was in.
 
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