High-Flying Egbunu Isn't Your Average Freshman
January 10, 2014 | Men's Basketball
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, JAN 10, 2014 – High-flying John Egbunu has a very unique basketball story.
USF's freshman center certainly looks the part at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds and has wowed college analysts with his ability to make extraordinary efforts look routine.
“He get can things done that some people just can't do because of his ability to play so far above the rim,” head coach Stan Heath said. “He's also so quick to the ball and I think the more his teammates can get used to him playing above the rim the more he can be effective.”
Egbunu is averaging 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds through 16 games for the Bulls (10-6, 1-2) and his teammates have enjoyed getting the big man the ball in the team's recent stretch of games. Egbunu is averaging 10.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in his past five games after posting nine points and 11 boards Thursday night to help USF start 4-0 on the road for the first time in program history with an 82-75 win at Temple.
“I have so much passion for the game right now and I can't imagine my life without basketball,” Egbunu said.
It hasn't always been this way for the late bloomer on the hard court.
Egbunu hails from Bauchi, Nigeria, and grew up playing the country's top sport – soccer – until he started to morph into the physical specimen he's become while wearing the Green and Gold. Egunu got a major growth spurt at the age of 14 that shot him all the way up to nearly 6-foot-7.
“I started playing soccer at a very young age and after a while I kind of got taller,” he said. “From then my dad just told me to start playing basketball, so I started and got an opportunity to get an education and play basketball in the United States. That's exciting.”
Egbunu's Fast Track to Division I
Egbunu goofed around with the game of basketball like most active kids do growing up but didn't started playing at an organized level until he got to the United States about four years ago.
“I was playing with the top players at a camp back home and a coach from the United States who organized the camp gave me the opportunity,” he said.
Despite his mom's worries about her boy going far away from home, Egbunu took to the chance at chasing an American dream and headed to Atlanta to start school and his career at Georgia Elite Christian. Egbunu headed to Fort Walton Beach High School in Florida for his junior and senior seasons and really grabbed the attention of college scouts at elite tournaments that included the NBA Top 100 camp.
“When I moved from Nigeria I was only playing basketball for barely a year at that time and when I got there it was like a huge process,” he said. “You meet guys that have been playing this game for a very long time. There were a lot of adjustments I had to make and the big thing for me was staying focused and listening to my coaches.”
USF came calling about three years ago when Egbunu was still very early in the process of becoming a standout player and jumped at the opportunity find out more. Assistant coach Steve Roccaforte attended a tournament after receiving a tip about Egbunu and it didn't take long for him to become very interested.
“In the first half I think he had 14 points on seven dunks and I left at halftime and said, 'Thumbs up. That's probably a guy we need to go on,'” Roccaforte said. “The next go-round of tournaments was in Orlando and I took Stan to see him. We were fortunate because I think we saw him early when a lot of people really didn't know who he was. We were able to build a relationship with him and I think that was more important than anything else.”
Egbunu Starting to Excel at USF
Egbunu's game has really started to take off during his recent hot stretch that features two double-doubles, including a career-high 20-point, 14-rebound performance against No. 18 Memphis on New Year's Eve.
“It's really exciting to see myself getting better but there is still a lot of room for improvement. I look forward to getting better,” he said. “I've always known whenever you work hard good things always await you, so I just tried to do that every day. I guess this is my blessing for working hard.”
Heath and his staff have been very pleased with Egbunu's tireless work ethic and Heath has made a point of constantly encouraging his promising freshman to stay on the path to reaching his potential.
“He's working every single day on developing more of an inside game,” Heath said. “I certainly think he's one of those guys that you don't have to run a bunch of things for. He can still end the game with a double-double.”
“It's really important for a guy like that because if you're humble and you're hungry and you know what your calling card is that makes all the difference in the world,” Roccaforte said. “He's really good where he is, but as he continues to get better on a daily basis the sky is the limit for him.”
Egbunu and the Bulls look to go 5-0 on the road Wednesday, Jan. 15 at SMU before USF returns to the Sun Dome to host Cincinnati on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. Purchase tickets HERE and stay updated on the team on Twitter @USFMBB.
