Virginia lands 7-footer Onyenso from K-State/Kentucky

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia, which primarily played last season without a rim protector, has added massive 7-footer Ugonna Onyenso from Kansas State and Kentucky, via the transfer portal.

Onyenso has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, and at 247 pounds, has the bulk to be a strong defender in the post. He joins 6-11 German forward/center Johann Grunloh as UVA’s latest two frontcourt pickups over the past couple of days and gives the Cavaliers a 10-man roster at this point.

A native of Nigeria, Onyenso was a 4-star recruit and a top-30 prospect in the recruiting class of 2022. He signed with John Calipari at Kentucky and played in 16 games as a freshman, playing nearly seven minutes per contest and scoring 2.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game (shot 52.9 percent from the field) that season.

His best numbers came during his sophomore campaign at Kentucky, playing in 24 games, averaging 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocked shots per game (shot 55 percent) in 18.6 minutes per outing.

When Calipairi left Kentucky, so did Onyenso, signing with Kansas State. His numbers fell off for the most part, although he did make 70 percent of his field-goal attempts, while averaging 2.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks over 11 minutes per game.

For his career, Onyenso appeared in 60 games, averaged 3.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest and shot 59 percent from the floor.