Ugonna Onyekwe

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Ugonna Onyekwe
Personal information
Born (1979-07-14) July 14, 1979 (age 44)
Power forward
Career highlights and awards

Ugonna Nnamdi Onyekwe (born July 14, 1979) is a British-Nigerian former professional basketball player.[1] He played professionally from September 2003 through April 2011 before retiring from the sport to enter the business world.[2] Onyekwe played college basketball at the University of Pennsylvania where he became just the fourth Ivy League player ever to be named the Ivy League Player of the Year two times (2002, 2003).[3]

Early life

Onyekwe was born in Lagos, Nigeria.

Wharton School of Business.[6]

College

Onyekwe played for the Penn Quakers between 1999 and 2003. In his freshman season he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year after averaging 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game; he was also named to the All-Ivy League Second Team.[4] Late in the season, in a very important match-up against Princeton, Onyekwe scored the game-sealing bucket with a 360-degree dunk. That play led off SportsCenter's highlights the night it happened. During the Quakers' first-round game of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, he recorded 17 points and six rebounds against Illinois.[4]

As a

sophomore he repeated as a Second Team-er.[4] Onyekwe averaged 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds on the season, and in a game against eventual Final Four-bound Maryland, he scored 20 points.[4] The following year, his junior season in 2001–02, he was named the Ivy League Player of the Year, was unanimous pick for All-Ivy League First Team, and was also selected for All-Philadelphia Big 5 First Team.[4] He led Penn in scoring, field goal shooting, rebounding and blocks.[4] The Quakers, as the #11-seed in the 2002 NCAA tournament, lost to #6 California
, 82 to 75, in the opening round.

Onyekwe's senior season saw him repeat as the Ivy League Player of the Year, becoming just the second player in league history (with Princeton's

1995.[8] Onyekwe graduated Penn with 1,762 points and 759 rebounds.[7]

Professional and later life

Despite being a potential draft pick, he was never selected. Onyekwe instead took his game overseas, where in his eight-year career he played in Israel and Spain.

CAI Zaragoza and Baloncesto León.[1]

Onyekwe retired from professional basketball in April 2011.[2] He has since worked as an events coordinator, and co-founded a media company.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "UGONNA ONYEKWE basketball profile". Eurobasket Inc. Sports I.T. 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ugonna Onyekwe's LinkedIn profile". LinkedIn. 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Bailey, Teddy (September 28, 2012). "Top Five in 25: The Penn Quakers". PhilaHoops.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. ^
    NBA.com
    . NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  5. ^ Tatum, Kevin (December 22, 2001). "Tall and talented front wall for Penn Ugonna Onyekwe, Koko Archibong give the Quakers a 1-2 punch". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philly.com. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  6. ^ Friedman, Jeff (April 17, 2003). "Onyekwe impresses at NBA camp". Yale Daily News.
  7. ^ a b "Ugonna Onyekwe". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  8. ^ McQuade, Dan (November 22, 2002). "Are 'U' going to the NBA?". The Daily Pennsylvanian. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved November 1, 2012.

External links

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