Zeke Nnaji is 'incredibly humbled' by his Ring of Honor induction at Arizona

Arizona basketball lore is chock-full of what-ifs.

“What if Brandon Ashley never broke his foot against Cal in 2014?”

“What if Illinois didn’t rally in those last four minutes of the Elite Eight in 2005?”

“What if Duke’s Jay Williams was called for that foul in the 2001 national-title game?”

One of the most recent what-if scenarios: What if the COVID-19 pandemic never happened, and the freshmen-led Arizona Wildcats played in the 2020 NCAA Tournament?

“We still think about that even when I meet up with some of my former teammates,” said former Arizona forward Zeke Nnaji, who was inducted into the McKale Center Ring of Honor on Saturday. “We still talk about it to this day. We reminisce and think about what could’ve been and how far we could’ve gone, things like that.

“It’s an academic exercise at this point. It stinks that it went down this way, but it is what it is.”

Nnaji’s UA teammate Josh Green, who was inducted into the Ring of Honor on Thursday, said the hours between Arizona’s win in the Pac-12 Tournament and finding out the season would be shuttered due to the pandemic were a “rollercoaster of emotions.”

and star point guard Nico Mannion were the freshman trio that led Arizona in 2020.

Nnaji was the most decorated among his teammates, earning All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Freshman Team honors. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after averaging 16.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.

Once the season came to a screeching halt, Nnaji declared for the NBA draft and was selected 22nd overall by the Denver Nuggets. Since then, he’s spent the last three seasons as a backup power forward for Denver, which currently has the best record in the Western Conference.

Before Arizona-Colorado at McKale Center, Nnaji spoke to the media about his Ring of Honor induction, his freshman season at Arizona, his sister Maya Nnaji playing at the UA and lessons learned in the NBA:

What does the Ring of Honor induction mean to you?

A: “I’m incredibly humbled. I work so hard to get to this point. All throughout high school, I dreamed of playing at Arizona. Once I committed, I was excited to be a part of the family. For me to be inducted into the Ring of Honor is incredibly humbling and it’s rewarding. I have so many emotions come to me, because I had such a great time here. I made a lot of friends, had a lot of great memories here. My time here is one of the favorite times of my basketball career. To have this is incredible for me.”

How do you look back on your one season at Arizona?

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A: “The relationship that I built with my teammates and the coaches is something that’ll last a lifetime for me. Even though I was only here for a year, the fact that we got so close in such a short amount of time, and the chemistry that we built, we still talk to each other to this day. It’s something I’m proud of.”

Take us through the 24-hour period when Arizona beat Washington in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas to when you were told the season was shutting down due to the pandemic.

A: “The whole situation was so abrupt. We were in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament, and we just went up against Washington. Before you know it, you hear rumors about other tournaments shutting down and we’re not sure what’s happening. Then we find out the season is done, there’s no continuing it.

“It happened so fast, and it stinks the way that it went down, because we felt like we were peaking at the right time and things were really starting to click for us and we were going to make a good run. So the fact that it ended that way and (we) didn’t get to play in the NCAA Tournament is a bummer, but I’m still grateful for the experience and the journey.”

How did the Nnaji-Arizona relationship form for you and your sister Maya, who’s currently a freshman for the UA women’s team?

A: “When I was getting recruited in high school and I came here for my official and unofficial visits, things like that, my whole family came out too. My sister came out as well, and (the Arizona women’s basketball program) also developed a great relationship with her. So that just blossomed more and more while I was here. It showed that they really cared and it’s developed into — the whole Nnaji is intertwined with Arizona basketball.”

What has been the biggest challenge playing in the NBA?

A: “It’s really about being disciplined and being professional. At the end of the day, this is a job and you’re going up against grown men who have families to provide for. If you can become disciplined quickly and understand you have to work and don’t have time to goof around, then that’ll give you a big advantage right away.

“I had a lot of great people around me, supporting me, teaching me to become a professional right away. I had a lot of great veterans on my rookie year’s team, and they taught me what it (means) to work hard and stay in this league for many years.”

What is it like being teammates with players like Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon?

A: “We’re really close. They’ve been great to me and have given me so much advice over the past three years.”

What are the latest updates with the “Nnaji Family Foundation” and its philanthropic efforts?

A: “We’re building some courts in Nigeria, and we’re looking to build some academic centers as well. So not only are we doing things on the basketball court, but we’re also giving tools for them to pursue other career paths. Sports isn’t the only thing they can look forward to. If they want to do something in the STEM field, we can provide them with the resources in that area as well. That’s something we’re really excited about and working on right now.”