In order to differentiate himself from the 31 other players competing for just 12 spots on USA Basketball’s U19 World Cup roster this week, Arizona freshman forward Zeke Nnaji says he’s trying to showcase his combination of size, skills and versatility.
“Everyone’s being super competitive right now,” Nnaji said Monday by phone from USA Basketball headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “No one wants to go home. Everyone wants to make the team and compete and have the honor of playing with USA across their chest.”
Nnaji will find out Tuesday, when finalists are named for the team that will go to Greece next week for the U19 World Cup, if his efforts will pay off. But even if they don’t, the same approach from Nnaji will likely benefit the Wildcats next season.
At 6 feet 11 inches and about 238 pounds, Nnaji is expected to play a key role next season as a mobile big who can play power forward with Chase Jeter at center, or scoot over to center if Ira Lee or Stone Gettings takes the four-spot.
“I’m able to do whatever coach needs,” Nnaji said. “I won’t just limit myself to one position. If we need me to do something, I’ll be able to do it.”
Having moved to Tucson and already spent a week at UA acquainting himself, Nnaji said he’s already familiar with his new teammates and optimistic about next season.
Although UA says that the program is now under NCAA investigation, and wrote in a victim impact statement that it is bracing for “potentially significant sanctions,” Nnaji said the UA coaches have reassured him.
“They’ve explained everything,” Nnaji said. “I trust them and I think that there’s nothing to be concerned about, really. I think that everything out there is just trying to make us look bad but other than that I’m confident in the coaching staff and everything.”
Coincidentally, UA coach Sean Miller just happens to be on hand watching Nnaji during the four-day camp as a member of USA Basketball’s Junior National Team committee, along with Purdue coach Matt Painter, Virginia coach Tony Bennett, Providence coach Ed Cooley and former NBA player Shane Battier.
But Nnaji said he isn’t allowed to talk with Miller at the camp. The Junior Team Committee actually selects the U19 team, along with input from a coaching staff that includes head coach Bruce Weber of Kansas State, and assistants Mike Hopkins of Washington and LaVelle Moton of North Carolina Central.
Instead, Nnaji has been using some non-verbal moves on the court to make his case to the committee.
“I think I’ve been playing good, playing hard,” Nnaji said. “I’m doing the little things, especially because I know that’s what they’re looking for – not just people who are going to score but people who can do other things as well, so that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Nnaji’s competition includes some players who already logged their freshman seasons of college basketball, including Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry, an all-SEC freshman pick last season, and Purdue’s Trevion Williams, a part-time starter as a freshman last season.
Incoming freshmen big men in the USA camp include 275-pounder Eric Dixon of Villanova, 6-9 Onyeka Okongwu of USC and 6-8 Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, a former UA target who is headed to Villanova while five-star 7-footer Evan Mobley is among the rising high school seniors.
Nnaji offers versatility and a fast-improving game that saw him gather high-major offers last summer while playing for the D1 Minnesota club, then continued last season when he led Hopkins High School to the Minnesota 4A title. Nnaji then played in the Allen Iverson Classic all-star game in April along with fellow incoming UA freshman Terry Armstrong.
“It’s not just my luck,” Nnaji said. “I think I’ve been working tremendously hard to get to where I am. I’m just starting to get more confidence in myself and know who I am. I’ve seen a lot of the competition around the country and I think I can compete with the best of them.”
Since the U19 camp opened on Saturday, Nnaji said he’s been trying to prove he can effectively fit onto the 12-man team with his ability to play power forward or center.
“I think if I make the team, they’ll probably use me at 4 or 5 because of how many guards they have and I think that my versatility will help a lot,” Nnaji said. “If you put me on the court with four other guards, I’ll still be able to switch everything, and still guard up with a guard. I’ll still be able to run the floor and get rebounds, pass the ball and communicate.
“They’ve been saying ‘if you’re versatile, really show your versatility,’” Nnaji said. “I’ve been trying to do that, whether it’s stepping out for a 2, or going inside for an offensive rebound putback, setting pick and rolls, all the little things that not everyone can do.”
USA Basketball’s final 12-player roster won’t be completely finalized until later this week, in advance of the team’s June 24 departure for Greece, but a limited group of finalists will be announced Tuesday.
Currently taking a first summer session course online at UA, Nnaji said he will probably drop his scheduled second summer session course if he makes the U19 team, since the Greece tournament will last until July 7 and he’ll be pretty focused on basketball.
It will be a good problem to have.
Rim shots
- UA guard Brandon Williams removed the words “University of Arizona Guard” from his Twitter bio — but not a picture of him in a Wildcat uniform — prompting speculation about his future (UA is also one over the scholarship limit). But his stepfather, Chris Wright, said via text message Monday that “nothing is set in stone” while Williams remains at UA working out and continuing to improve a congenital knee issue that flared up last season. Wright said the plan has always been to “move with caution as he continues to get healthy.”
- Five-star class of 2020 Seattle wing MarJon Beauchamp said on Twitter that he will visit Arizona this weekend. Beauchamp is transferring from Seattle’s Garfield High School to Scottsdale Bella Vista Prep, as Armstrong did last summer from Michigan.
- UA extended several scholarship offers over the weekend, including to four-star 2020 wing Dalen Terry of Tempe, four-star 2020 guard DJ Stewart of Chicago and 2022 point guard Richard “Pop Pop” Isaacs of Las Vegas.
