Ayudo Ayudo

Still Climbing: The Unfinished Game

The obsession hasn’t changed. The fourth-year Lightning player is learning that getting better sometimes means being patient enough to let the work catch up.

Before there were collegiate ambitions, there was a court near the house. An older brother. And a very straightforward training program: miss a shot, run across the field.

Ayudo Ayudo didn’t know he was being introduced to player development. He just knew missing came with extra cardio.

Basketball entered his life around Grade 3 or 4, initially as another sport to try. By Grade 5, a strong showing in a free throw competition gave him a reason to take it seriously. His brother supplied the other part of the equation: the work.

Those neighbourhood sessions became the foundation of a game he’s been building ever since.

“It made me obsessed with getting better,” he says.

That obsession still drives the 6-foot-5 Calgary product as he enters his fourth year with St. Mary’s. Last year, he described a game built around craft: the midrange pull-up, the jab, the fake that gets a defender leaning in the wrong direction. He loved the details. The little advantages you could create by practicing something until it became yours.

This year, there’s another detail demanding his attention: his knee.

An injury during the second half of last season affected his ability to play at full strength. He pushed through to the end, but an offseason MRI brought a diagnosis of patellar tendinosis. He’d experienced jumper’s knee in high school. This time, it was considerably worse.

For someone accustomed to answering a challenge with more work, rehabilitation introduced a frustrating complication. Effort matters. So does time.

Ayudo researched, worked through exercises, and studied the material of a tendon specialist, listening to podcasts and learning about the recovery process. The biggest lesson was also the hardest to rush.

“I have to just be patient. Put in the work.”

Some days feel better than others. He says he’s progressing well, but enters the season with uncertainty about how his knee will respond. His approach is to keep paying attention, keep doing the work, and recognize that even a small step counts.

The ambition remains substantial. He wants to earn ACAC First Team honours. Further down the road, he wants to play professional basketball.

His definition of success, though, starts with something he can practice today.

“Success to me is controlling the controllable.”

Show up for yourself. Back yourself. Keep a mistake from becoming the only thing you can see. Ayudo understands how quickly basketball can turn into an argument inside your own head, especially when the first person you blame is yourself.

Being your own biggest supporter takes discipline, too.

Away from basketball, he finds some breathing room with his girlfriend, friends, and teammates—people who help him put the stress down for a while. He also has an appreciation for a good pair of basketball shoes, with sneaker reselling on his list of future interests. A player who pays attention to footwork appreciating footwear feels fairly inevitable.

But ask about his underrated skill, and his answer is kindness.

A compliment. A small act of generosity. A chance to make somebody’s day better without knowing what kind of day they were having.

“This is real money right here!”

There’s an ease to that answer. Ayudo takes improvement seriously, but he also cares about the energy he brings into a room.

He’s learned that accepting support matters as much as offering it. His advice to younger athletes is to ask for help, particularly in school. He remembers being hesitant to use resources that were available to him. Now, he wants others to give themselves that opportunity sooner.

As for his own legacy, he hopes the work will speak clearly.

“I’m not a talkative person,” he says, “but my work will never go unnoticed because it shows!”

He wants to be remembered for showing up, leading by example, and bringing his passion for basketball with him.

The kid running across the field after missed shots is still there. So is the player who loves finding another layer to his game. This season, he’s bringing a little more patience to that pursuit—and the same appetite for whatever comes next.

“There’s levels to greatness,” Ayudo says. “And although I’m still far from it, every day is an opportunity to climb that ladder.”