Maya Nnaji was happy. Relieved, too.
The years-long process of deciding where she was going to college was over.
On May 10, the Minnesota high school star released an online video telling the world of her decision. She chose Arizona, fresh off its first Final Four, over offers from Stanford, South Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Louisville, UCLA and Maryland, among others.
For a UA program that’s accomplished so many firsts in the last few months, Nnaji’s decision marked yet another big moment. She is the highest-rated player ever to commit to the Wildcats and the fourth five-star player recruited to the UA by coach Adia Barnes. ESPN ranks Nnaji as the seventh-best player and third-best forward in the 2022 recruiting class.
Still, the 6-foot-4-inch Nnaji said her choice of Arizona “was a gradual thing.”
“Coach Adia is just a real person, really transparent, super down to earth, super humble and super personable,” she said. “It’s really fun talking to her — she was one of my favorite coaches during the recruiting process to talk to because it wasn’t just like, ‘oh, you need to work on this. And work on that.’ We had fun conversations. … Our conversations were like probably 10% basketball after a while and like 90% anything else in life.”
Like the rest of the country, Nnaji was enthralled by the Wildcats’ run to the national championship game.
“Seeing Coach Adia trailblaze the Final Four, being a mom … she’s also a Black female coach. She was fighting really hard. She’s working really hard and she’s pushing her girls,” she said. “I definitely want to play for a coach who is that passionate and that I can relate to. And so yeah, once I saw the Final Four, it was a done deal.”
Of course, Arizona had something else working in its favor. If the Nnaji name sounds familiar, it should.
“You guys know what you got with the last Nnaji,” she said. “The Nnaji dynasty is continuing — the next one is coming. I can’t wait to get to Tucson to work hard. I’m excited.”
‘Eat, sleep, breathe basketball’
Maya Nnaji is one one of the younger sisters of Zeke Nanji, the 2020 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at Arizona who is now playing for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. They have a younger sister, Josie, who is entering her sophomore year of high school. The guard already has a scholarship offer from the UA.
The Nnajis’ father, Alphan, first handed Maya a basketball when she was 4 years old. She preferred soccer, the game that helped develop her speed, stamina, agility and footwork.
Eventually, basketball grew on her. By seventh grade, Nnaji was focusing on the sport exclusively. She learned to play the guard position first, then moved over to the post. Being able to play multiple positions is one of the reasons Nnaji has excelled at Minnetonka’s Hopkins High School. The other? The countless reps against her brother.
“We eat, sleep, breathe basketball as a family,” Zeke Nnaji told the Star. “We were in the driveway when it was humid — 90 or 95 degrees — getting shots up for hours, rebounding and playing 1-on-1. Growing up, I think playing against her big brother helped her a lot. It made her tough and gave her that competitive drive she has today.
“I beat her all the time. She came close, but I’m competitive, too, and won’t give her that over me.”
Maya said her brother taught her how to put up shots against players taller than she is, and how to get by someone.
The NBA rookie “can block my shot a lot, he can steal the ball from me,” she said. “But when I get to a game with girls my age, I’m going to be able to know how to maneuver around them and how to score on them, how to dominate.”
She is now paying it forward by helping her sister, Josie, in the same way.
‘She will impact and change the world’
Tara Starks first saw Nnaji in the gym when she was in seventh grade. Immediately, she knew the forward would be special. Starks, who ran the Hopkins High School summer workout programs, called college coaches and told them to “get an eye on this kid.”
“I could see the potential in her,” Starks said. “She is so committed and committed to do the work. She’s a kid who wants to be the best. I’ve told her she is by far the best player in the country. This statement isn’t about how many points she scores; I’m looking at what she could do at the next level. At 6-foot-4-inches, she can dominate inside and step outside. You don’t come across kids who can dominate like that on a consistent basis.”
Nnaji averaged 18.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a junior. Starks, who was named Hopkins’ head coach last fall, described her as a leader who isn’t afraid to ask questions or speak her mind. She’s also the first to take responsibility when things don’t go as planned. Hopkins lost in the state tournament this spring, ending a 78-game winning streak. Nnaji apologized to her teammates after the game, saying her performance wasn’t up to par.
“I was moved,” Starks said. “Most kids at that age wouldn’t step up and say that. She gets it. She understands and she said, ‘I’m gong to do everything I can to get it done in my senior year.’ That’s huge. I truly believe she will impact and change the world. Adia’s getting a really good one.”
While Starks wasn’t involved in Nnaji’s college decision, she is very familiar with Arizona. Her daughter Tee Tee helped jumpstart the UA’s turnaround under Barnes, joining fellow transfers Aari McDonald and Dominique McBryde.
Arizona’s full-court press
Nnaji loves the summer. Free of school, she pursues her other interests: cooking, painting, singing, reading and writing.
She’s versatile in more ways than one, a forward who has the handles of a guard and an athlete with a passion for things off the court.
Nnaji plans to attend medical school after college. She has already explored becoming:
A pediatrician, because she likes kids and wants to help those not as fortunate as her. Nnaji wants to work in her family’s homeland in Nigeria or in a Spanish-speaking country.
An orthopedic surgeon, so she can use her sports background to understand what her patients are going through while she helps them come back from injuries.
A dermatologist, so she can have more time to spend with her family and her other interests.
Arizona embraced Nnaji’s academic aspirations during the recruiting process, putting more than 20 different people on the same Zoom call to pitch the university. UA president Robert C. Robbins, a cardiologist by training, had his own message for her.
“He was saying, ‘If you come here, I could be a mentor. I can help you through all this. Then once you graduate, I could write you letters of recommendation, if I build relationship with you,’” Nnaji said. “I didn’t speak to any president from any other schools. That was really cool that he was willing to help me along the way.”
Nnaji said she also wanted to play for a program that emphasized strength and conditioning. She watched from afar as Barnes developed players over the last few years.
“When I get to college, I want my body to be transformed,” Nnaji said. “I watched my brother go there and as soon as he touched down in Tucson the strength coach transformed him — he looked like a beast. … He came back from a break in college he was way bigger, way stronger. He was blowing by me, dunking on me. It was like, ‘Oh no.’ Then I tried dribbling and he bumped his chest into me and I’d fall over. It was crazy … Obviously, it’s difficult for females, but I know I can get to that level as well.”
‘Now we can say Nnajis are Wildcats’
Despite the Arizona influences in her life — a brother that starred for the Wildcats; a high school coach who sent her daughter to Tucson — Nnaji’s decision was ultimately hers alone.
Which meant she had a little fun with her college announcement. Nnaji had convinced Barnes into thinking that she’d be committing somewhere else … until she unzipped a hoodie to reveal a UA T-shirt underneath.
The deception was a joint effort by Nnaji and her father, who planned to “lead them on and make it sound like we’re not coming there.”
“I was saying ‘thank you guys so much for building the relationship. I appreciate all the time you guys put in but unfortunately, I can only go to one school.’ … it sounded like it’s the end of the road,” she said. “And, then I was like, ‘Unfortunately, you guys are going to be seeing a lot of me the next four years.’ Then I unzipped my jacket. They were like, ‘What!?!’ They were clapping. It was really exciting and super, super fun.”
Nobody’s more excited than Zeke Nnaji, who said he’s excited that his sister is carrying on a family tradition.
“I am super proud of her,” he said. “I wanted her to do what was best for her and it ended up working out perfectly. Now we can say Nnajis are Wildcats. It’s awesome.”
