By Jerry Ratcliffe
When the imposing figure of 7-foot, 250-pound Ugonna Onyenso strolled into the press room after leading Virginia to a lopsided win over visiting Hampton last Tuesday night, it didn’t take long to recognize that “Ugo,” as his mates call him, was ready for the moment.
The big Nigerian had played at powerhouse Kentucky and last season at Kansas State before accepting an offer to join Ryan Odom’s new team at UVA.
What he probably didn’t suspect was that Odom and his staff would be so open-minded, receptive toward allowing Onyenso to experiment with his offense, an untapped resource that had been smothered by other staffs who limited the mountainous Ugo to rebounding and blocking shots.
Oh, he still does those things. Ugo had 10 rebounds and 4 blocks against Hampton. But get this: he put up a double-double with a team- and game-high 18 points, including making 2 out of 3 triples from the arc. Those were the first two 3-pointers of Onyenso’s career.
In his postgame with Virginia media, Ugo was aglow, basking in the moment.
“I’ve waited so long for this, but it’s all thanks to Coach Odom,” Onyenso said of his 3-pointers. “He’s a really good coach and the patience that he has with me, especially because I’ve been scared to shoot the ball.”
Odom told the press earlier in the year that one of the things he had been most surprised by from all his new recruits was Ugo’s ability to shoot the ball, especially from Bonusphere.
“We had no idea until we got him in the gym,” Odom said back in August.
Since then, even before then, Onyenso had been working on his shot.
I couldn’t help but ask Ugo to explain why he had been scared to shoot the 3-ball. Was it that he was just reluctant or didn’t have the confidence, or did coaches simply say, “Don’t even think about it.”
He delivered a strong explanation.
“I didn’t have the confidence and the coaches were like, ‘Don’t think about it,’” Ugo said. “I showed that I could do it a little bit, but when it was time to do it at practice, I wasn’t able to do it in practice. So it was like, since I couldn’t show you in practice, I wasn’t going to do it in a game. I understand Kentucky, but K-State, it was different.
“I showed that I could shoot the ball a little bit, but the coaches were like, we prefer you staying down in the post and the block area.”
He understood he had a role to play, a natural role for someone with his physique and a 7-foot-5 wingspan.
“I was like, Okay, this is what you want me to do, so I’ll do it,” Ugo said. “I didn’t play much at K-State, but I understood it’s a part of life, part of the process. I took it and kept walking and I came here and I’m getting better opportunities thanks to the coaches.”
All the while, Onyenso was wearing a broad smile. He couldn’t contain his joy and everyone recognized it.
“[Onyenso] was a monster on the boards and he blocked shots,” said Hampton coach Ivan Thomas.
That wasn’t surprising. While at Kentucky, he tied a Rupp Arena record with 10 blocks against Ole Miss, and pulled 16 rebounds versus Florida.
Former Kentucky coach John Calipari, who won a recruiting battle against Kansas, Oklahoma and Memphis for the top-50 prospect in 2022, said this of the big man:
“Ugonna has unbelievable natural athleticism and great instincts for a young player,” Calipari said. “He is going to be able to defend at the rim and is a terrific finisher.”
Talk about rim protection, something Virginia has lacked for some time, Onyenso and 7-foot teammate Johann Grunloh have swatted away so many shots that the Cavaliers rank No. 2 in the nation in that category going into Saturday’s game against undefeated Marshall (noon, JPJ, ACC Network Extra).
Ugo will be ready, coming off the bench to add a spark. The youngest player to ever wear the jersey for the Nigerian National team at age 17 has always posted high shooting percentages because most of his buckets are high-percentage shots. He made 8 of 10 field-goal attempts vs. Hampton, but showed his versatility with the two shots from the top of the 3-point arc.
This time, he’s not scared.
