The Houston area is home to some really talented high school ballers right now and perhaps the most talented of them all is Cy-Fair High School’s Nneka Ogwumike. The 6-foot-2 forward is one of the most-sought after players in the country who received her first offer years ago from New Mexico shortly after the 14U AAU Nationals.
Ogwumike is typically referred to by her first name by most coaches and girl's basketball pundits because so many are afraid to butcher her last name. Given her talent on the basketball court, perhaps it is taking a turn towards pop-star status ala Madonna, Justin or Christina.
Ogwumike and her three younger sisters were born and raised in the Houston area. Her mother, Ify Ogwumike, is from Nigeria and moved to the U.S. some 24 years ago. There is a closeness about the family you can hear in their voices and how they talk about each other. Also, the relationship between Nneka and Chiney, the oldest of younger sisters, is helping develop her as a leader and role model.
Nneka Ogwumike doesn't need a hand on the boards
(photo by Glenn Nelson)
Last year was the first time the two sisters got to play basketball together. “(Chiney) is a little kooky at times,” Nneka said, “She’s the baby on the team and does a lot of weird thing, but it's so much fun playing with her.”
Their relationship, despite playing a competitive sport and competing with two other younger siblings for attention has no sibling rivalry sentiments. “They are better than best friends, there is a genuine admiration there,” Ify said. “Chiney has a lot of respect for Nneka. She thinks she just awesome.”
“When we fall, we pick each other up,” Nneka says of her relationship with Chiney.
They are also going to play basketball together in college. Both are great students although their interests are very different. “Nneka is a math-science kid while Chiney is more of a liberal arts strength,” Ify said. Nneka wants to go to a school where she can get a pre-medical degree for a career being a pediatrician while Chiney is looking for a strong law school program.
Nneka's list of schools so far has Baylor, Duke, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Stanford and Texas leading Connecticut, Princeton, Tennessee and USC. Ogwumike said she’s really trying to narrow her list. That process involves her sister’s input as well as the rest of the family. They all have discussed some of the coaching changes going on.
“Coach G(oestenkors) moving to Texas really shifted some dominoes in our house,” Ify said. “It also brought up some questions that we took for granted before, like what the coach’s contract status and situation is."
Nneka said, “(Gostenkors) moving is a big thing. It puts some things in perspective. It’s not a setback though for the other schools.” Note that, unlike the recent news that the 2008 class’s No. 1 player, Elena DelleDonne, dropped Duke, Goestenkor’s former school, and added Texas to her list because of the coaching change, Duke still is in the mix for Ogwumike. According to Nneka’s mother it is because the school has such great academics and the basketball program speaks for itself. She also has completed the preliminary screening for Stanford and is awaiting her application.
Chiney Ogwumike (photo by Chris Hansen)
As Ogwumike prepares for basketball and studies on the next level, she still focuses her attention on her team, not herself. Her club team, Cy-Fair Shock 90 recently participated in the Boo Williams Invitational in Hampton, Va. They made it to the quarterfinals before losing a nail-biter to Boo Williams Summer League. It was an intense and physical game and tournament and both sister’s shined on the big stage.
During Boo Williams, Ogwumike showed she can be successful against other top-ranked players who are bigger and stronger than she is. Her performance resulted with a resounding answer of “yes she’s really that good” and in our second round of rankings for the 2008 class we felt compelled to move her up to the No. 2 spot. In addition to her combination of size and athleticism, she has answered all the questions we had about her last summer.
Ogwumike was able to score against big-name, frontcourt players such as Lynetta Kizer and Alyssia Brewer. Her balance and composure even under pressure is very impressive and she surprised herself in how well she shot the ball from the perimeter. Shooting from deeper range and ballhandling is a major focus for her personally although she’s adamant that all her personal goals come after the team winning and making her teammates better.
Nneka Ogwumike is a humble kid who will impress all who watch her or who square off against her. She is the real deal and colleges coaches from coast to coast await her decision, which greatly will impact their recruiting classes and future team performance.
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Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women's Basketball at HoopGurlz.com. He leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz. Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at chris@hoopgurlz.com [1].
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