Ogechukwu Uwanaka hates dribbling. If she had her way, she wouldn’t do it at all. Nevermind that she’s a basketball player, one of the very best in PSAL Class B at that.
“Oge is a little bit stubborn,” said Tomas Baez, her travel coach with the Baseline program. “She likes to succeed and be perfect at things.”
Uwanaka has a 99 average, the best in the junior class at Morrisania in The Bronx. She’s averaging 20.2 points and 17 rebounds per game. In many cases, she makes things look easy. Dribbling is not one of those things for the athletic, 5-foot-11 Uwanaka.
“I was really frustrated,” she said. “A lot of things usually come easy to me. This was a process.”
Much like basketball has been.
Uwanaka, a Nigerian immigrant who moved here with her family when she was 10 months old, didn’t pick up a basketball until she was in eighth grade. She didn’t play an organized game until she got to Morrisania. While she always excelled academically, this was a new and difficult challenge.
“Things I usually try I get it right away,” Uwanaka said. “Basketball was a process. If it’s not easy you don’t want to do it anymore. I kind of stuck with it. I’m glad I did.”
At Morrisania, she has developed into a star. Uwanaka has led the Knights to a 9-2 record in PSAL Bronx B West and has drawn some college interest playing over the summer with Baseline. Division I schools like Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner have called and Division IIs Adelphi and Southern Connecticut State are giving her a look.
“I’m amazed by her, because she just started playing in ninth grade,” Baez said.
That’s just the kind of person Uwanaka is, though. Once she sets her mind to something, she is so driven she must be the best at it. She missed being her middle school valedictorian by .08, so she said her goal now is to earn the honor at Morrisania. Uwanaka pulls all-nighters after basketball practice two to three times per week to ensure she gets done every last piece of her boatload of work, much of it from Advanced Placement classes.
“If I’m not the best, then I don’t see the point,” she said. “Even in school, I don’t see the point in doing things unless I can be the best I can be. Mediocrity is not an option.”
Morrisania coach Phil Farrelly knows he doesn’t have to push her at all. In the fall, she was even a star in the school play while juggling all her other responsibilities.
“She’s every coach’s dream,” he said. “It’s her hard work, her drive, how great of a kid she is. She’s every parent’s dream as well. I always say to myself, everybody would love to have five Oges.”
Her high-end academics have opened up a bit of a quandary. Will Uwanaka go to an Ivy League-type school for books or a sports school for basketball? She’s hoping to find a happy medium between the two. The plan – she already has it mapped out – is to go to a liberal arts institution, enjoy college life and then enroll in medical school with the goal to one day become an obstetrician.
But basketball needs to be a part of her future no matter what, she says.
“Seeing myself not playing it is impossible,” Uwanaka said. “I’ve grown to love it. I don’t know why.”
Probably because that undying thirst to be the best – she’s not quite there yet – has taken hold.
Which brings us back to dribbling. With college ball in mind, Farrell has used Uwanaka on the perimeter this season, which few lower-level coaches are willing to do with someone her size. While before she would avoid dribbling at all costs, she has actually been bringing the ball up for Morrisania.
In a 40-35 loss Wednesday to American Studies, Uwanaka fouled out in the third quarter and without her ball handling, the Knights were not able to beat their opponents’ press on a consistent basis. A 24-8 halftime lead with her in the game turned into a heartbreaking loss.
“This season she’s gotten out of that habit,” Baez said. “She’s become the team’s primary ball handler. She’s grown and matured personally.”
People around Uwanaka tell her she’s a perfectionist, but she disagrees.
“If I have potential I want to fulfill it to the best of my best abilities,” Uwanaka said.
That’s a lot of potential to fulfill.