Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu
No. 21 – Chino Hills Huskies
Position Power Forward
League CIF
Personal information
Born (2000-12-11) December 11, 2000
Los Angeles, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Chino Hills (Chino Hills, California)
College USC (Committed)

Onyeka Okongwu (born December 11, 2000) is an American basketball player who attends Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California. He has been ranked among the top high school basketball players of his class and state. Okongwu has drawn significant attention as a former teammate of Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo Ball at Chino Hills, helping the team win a state championship as a freshman. He is currently a junior power forward and center for the Chino Hills Huskies. He is committed to the University of Southern California to play college basketball.

Early life

Okongwu was born in Los Angeles to Nigerian-born parents Kate and Mike Okongwu and was raised in Chino, California with his brothers, Nnamdi and Chukwuemeka, and his sister Chinemya.[1][2][3] He grew up playing tennis but picked up basketball at about eight years of age and chose to focus on it instead.[1] His older brother Nnamdi was a leading member of the basketball team at Chino Hills High School.[4] In July 2014, when Onyeka was 13 years old, Nnamdi suffered a brain injury in a skateboarding accident and died after spending three days on life support.[5] The death had a strong emotional impact on Onyeka.[6] His mother also changed jobs from the hospital where Nnamdi died to Kaiser Permanente in Ontario, California.[3]

High school career

Starting from freshman season, Okongwu assumed a major role on the hardwood for Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California (pictured).

Okongwu began attending Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California and became a starter on its varsity basketball team in his freshman season.[7][3] He wore number 21, the same as the late Nnamdi, and stood 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) by the end of the season.[3] Okongwu joined a team that featured the Ball brothers: Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo, who had gained popularity across the country and on social media.[8] He helped the Huskies become the top-ranked high school team in the country with a 35–0 record and played a key role in their postseason success.[9][10] In March 2016, Okongwu recorded 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks against De La Salle High School to claim the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division title.[10] MaxPreps named him National Co-Freshman of the Year with LaMelo Ball for the 2015–16 season.[11] Okongwu also finished the season with offers to play for UCLA and USC at the college level.[12]

Following the departure of Lonzo Ball for the 2016–17 season, Okongwu became the highest-rated prospect on Chino Hills.[13] In December 2016, the sophomore scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds at the Rancho Mirage Holiday Invitational.[13] On February 5, the Huskies were handed their first loss in 60 games by Oak Hill Academy, despite Okongwu's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.[14] The team finished the season with a 30–3 record.[15]

Okongwu remained with Chino Hills for his junior year under newly appointed head coach Dennis Latimore and assumed a larger role with the departures of both LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball.[16] Latimore said, "We're definitely looking to get the ball inside to Onyeka. We're going to go as far as he takes us."[16] On November 27, 2017, in his season debut, Okongwu scored a career-high 38 points in an 83–48 win over Temescal Canyon High School.[15] On May 14, 2018, Okongwu committed to the USC Trojans.[17]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Onyeka Okongwu
PF		 Chino Hills, CA Chino Hills (CA) 6 ft 8.7 in (2.05 m) 218 lb (99 kg) N/A 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 25  247Sports: 21, 3 (CA), 5 (C)  ESPN: 16, 3 (CA), 4 (PF)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.

    International career

    In the summer of 2016, Okongwu took part for Team Wiggins at the international adidas Nations camp, where he was the youngest of over 80 players.[18][19][20] In four games, he averaged 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds en route to an eighth place finish.[20] Okongwu was invited for a USA Basketball men's junior national team minicamp in October 2016.[21] In an interview at the event, he said, "When I got the invite, I was pretty shocked. I didn't think they knew who I was."[1] Okongwu returned to the adidas Nations camp in 2017 for USA Red 2019/2020 and averaged 8.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in five games to claim seventh place.[22] On the final day of the event, he posted 21 points and 6 rebounds against USA Blue 2018.[23]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "Onyeka Okongwu Interview at USA Basketball Junior National Team Camp". YouTube. October 9, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    2. ↑ Wall, Stephen (July 20, 2014). "Family recalls son as gentle giant". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    3. 1 2 3 4 Gardner, Michelle (March 3, 2016). "After brother's death, Chino Hills basketball standout Onyeka Okongwu looks to build on legacy". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    4. ↑ Gardner, Michelle (July 18, 2014). "Chino Hills basketball player Nnamdi Okongwu, taken off life support, dies after skateboard accident". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    5. ↑ Klemack, John Cádiz; Khan, Samia (July 17, 2014). "Freak Accident Leaves High School Basketball Star Brain Dead". KNBC. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    6. ↑ Rodriguez, Monica (July 20, 2014). "Chino family grieves at loss of eldest son killed in skateboard accident". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    7. ↑ "No. 1 Chino Hills caps unbeaten regular season with 92-72 win over Etiwanda". MaxPreps.com. February 12, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    8. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (April 26, 2015). "It's Ball in the family at Chino Hills basketball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    9. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (November 20, 2016). "Onyeka Okongwu is Chino Hills' middle man". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
    10. 1 2 "No. 1 Chino Hills caps perfect season and puts exclamation point on being nation's best". USATodayHSS.com. March 27, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    11. ↑ Hickman, Jason (April 21, 2016). "2015-16 MaxPreps Boys Basketball Freshman All-American Team". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    12. ↑ Sondheimer, Eric (February 1, 2016). "Chino Hills freshman Onyeka Okongwu offered by UCLA, USC". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    13. 1 2 Bossie, Eric (December 28, 2016). "Rancho Mirage Holiday: Five-star soph Onyeka Okongwu finding way". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
    14. ↑ Gardner, Michelle (February 5, 2017). "Chino Hills basketball falls to Oak Hill Academy to end 60-game win streak". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
    15. 1 2 Sondheimer, Eric (November 27, 2017). "Onyeka Okongwu scores career-high 38 points in season debut for Chino Hills". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
    16. 1 2 Sondheimer, Eric (November 26, 2017). "It's time for Onyeka Okongwu to be in the spotlight at Chino Hills". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
    17. ↑ Pierno, Ian. "5 Star Chino Hills Center Onyeka Okongwu Commits To Southern California". Slam Magazine. Slam Media. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
    18. ↑ "Inland stars among nation's best at international camp". The Press-Enterprise. July 30, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    19. ↑ "Top 10 List: Summer's best boys basketball players". The Press-Enterprise. August 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    20. 1 2 "July 29, 2016: Team Lillard vs. Team Wiggins". RealGM. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    21. ↑ "Onyeka Okongwu". USAB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    22. ↑ "Onyeka Okongwu Game Logs". RealGM. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    23. ↑ "August 6, 2017: USA Blue 2018 vs. USA Red 2019/2020". RealGM. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.