“The best shot blocker I ever saw in my life:” Ugonna Onyenso is turning heads at the ACC Tournament
CHARLOTTE, NC — Ryan Odom is not shy about his love for Ugonna Onyenso.
“It’s hard for any coach to say they have favorites, but …” he joked postgame on Thursday afternoon, trailing off earlier than ending the sentence.
And it is arduous guilty him. The 7-foot senior, who helped lead the Virginia Cavaliers to an 81-74 win over NC State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, has been as useful a weapon for UVA’s first-year head coach as anybody in Odom’s rotation.
Although Onyenso has come off the bench in every of Virginia’s 32 video games this season, he is no second fiddle to beginning heart Johann Grunloh. The pair of giants make up the best defensive one-two punch in the ACC, and with Grunloh in foul hassle in opposition to the Wolfpack, Onyenso was thrust right into a season-high half-hour of motion on the greatest stage the ‘Hoos have confronted to date this season.
Onyenso did not blink, taking full benefit of the alternative by scoring eight factors on 50% capturing from the ground, grabbing six rebounds, and blocking a season-high eight photographs whereas dominating the paint on each ends of the ground.
With Onyenso holding down the frontcourt, NC State managed to transform on simply 28.5% of their photographs from inside the arc on Thursday, permitting the ‘Hoos to beat a sleepy begin and advance to their ninth semifinals in the previous 12 ACC Tournaments.
“I played some years overseas,” UVA ahead Thjis De Ridder stated, “and that’s probably the best shot blocker I ever saw in my life.”
Virginia’s opponents this season seemingly really feel the similar approach as De Ridder. Despite taking part in simply 18 minutes per sport, Onyenso is averaging an astonishing 2.75 blocks, good for the second-best mark in the nation. Additionally, his block proportion of 16.8 (by way of KenPom.com) is the single highest in the nation, certainly one of many components that led to Onyenso’s choice to the All-ACC Defensive Team, which was introduced on Monday.
“For him to step up and be able to go that long in [the NC State] game says a lot about his physical fitness,” Odom noted. “And the impact that he had within the game was huge. “We don’t win that game without his play overall.”
Onyenso’s timing on the defensive finish and his plain impression this season appears easy, nevertheless it’s been a very long time coming for the UVA large man.
The No. 30 prospect in the class of 2023, in accordance with ESPN, Onyenso reclassified to affix the Kentucky Wildcats for the 2022-23 season. But the 7-footer did not hit the floor working in Lexington. Onyenso appeared in simply 16 video games as a freshman to the tune of two.5 factors and a pair of.6 rebounds per sport.
After the disappointing rookie marketing campaign, Onyenso was given a barely bigger function as a sophomore (24 appearances, 14 begins, 3.6 factors and 4.8 rebounds per sport). Although his defensive acumen started to shine (2.75 blocks per sport) in yr two at Kentucky, Onyenso went searching for a brand new residence following his second collegiate season and landed at Kansas State.
Strangely, nonetheless, Ok-State head coach Jerome Tang relegated Onyenso again to the finish of his rotation, and the former four-star recruit hit the switch portal as soon as once more this previous offseason. The third touchdown spot, fortunately for each him and the ‘Hoos, appears to have been the appeal.
“He’s found a home at the University of Virginia and within our basketball program,” Odom stated. “I can remember when he first arrived, really quiet… not quite sure what was going to happen next, confidence a little bit shaken. Just to see him bloom where he’s been planted has been really special, not only for our coaching staff but for our players, as well.”
A local of Owerri, Nigeria, Onyenso was awarded the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award earlier than tip-off on Thursday, a testomony to his resilience on and off the courtroom.
According to Andrew Ramspacher of UVA Today, Onyenso solely has one relative in the United States, an uncle who lives in Wisconsin. In search of some residence cooking, the towering heart has leaned on a UVA grad scholar, who has “served her fellow countryperson a rotation of homemade dishes from their homeland of Nigeria,” Ramspacher wrote earlier this week.
The love that Onyenso garners in the locker room and round the UVA neighborhood is as palpable as his play on the courtroom. In the NIL and switch portal period of faculty athletics, it is typically arduous for followers to really feel linked with a revolving door of athletes. Onyenso is proof, nonetheless, that whenever you deliver in the proper folks, it does not matter how short-lived their time in a Virginia uniform could also be.
It does not harm that Onyenso has saved his best basketball for March, both.
“I think he is [playing his best right now]there’s no question about it,” Odom said. “That’s the great thing about this team: they take up for one another. Johann gets two fouls early, Ugo steps up right away. Had he not, we probably would have been in trouble.”
Onyenso and the second-seeded ‘Hoos take the ground as soon as once more on Friday evening inside the Spectrum Center, the place they will meet the third-seeded Miami Hurricanes with a visit to the ACC Tournament championship sport on the line.
Tip-off is set for 7 PM EST, as Virginia and her shot-swatting large man search for win quantity 29 of the season.
