Arizona Basketball freshman Zeke Nnaji made quite a stellar debut against NAU , showing why he is one of the best freshmen in the country.
The Zeke Nnaji show. Arizona Basketball is stacked with talent this season with one of those players being four-star power forward Zeke Nnaji. Prior to the first game of the season against NAU, no one had seen him play in a competitive setting. There was the Red and Blue game, but that was a scrimmage game against his own teammates. It was unknown what he could do and boy did he put on a show for fans against the Lumberjacks.
He wasted no time in displaying his skills as the starting four. Alongside Chase Jeter, these two made it hard for their opponent to establish any sort of inside presence. It was apparent Nnaji’s size and strength was going to be a challenge for NAU to guard. He took full advantage with excellent positioning, footwork, and touch around the rim.
Nnaji showed his shooting range by even taking a mid-range jumper from the baseline and knocking it down. He did attempt one three, which just missed. Just imagine once he starts knocking down three-point shots he’ll be unguardable. Even without knocking down a three, he finished with 20 points, went 9-12 from the field, and had four rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
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For someone of his size and body frame, he even runs the court well. I mean there isn’t anything Nnaji can’t to. The only thing, which most freshmen have to adjust to, is on defense. But that even being said, he did have one block and a steal against NAU. After opponents watch him on tape, expect them to possibly bring the double team – only way you can stop him!
After the game, Sean Miller had a lot of praise for Nnaji and even made the comparison to former great Wildcats Derrick Williams. For him to make a statement like that says a lot about how good Nnaji is and can be. Miller even went as far as to say “he is one the best freshman in college basketball.”
Watch highlights of Zeke and his team dominate NAU in the season opener:
https://twitter.com/APlayersProgram/status/1192299218804731904?s=20
Many may have not known how good Nnaji is but now they know. The question is can he continue this for the rest of the season. We’ll find out as the Wildcats will be tested against Illinois on Sunday. At Zona Zealots, we can’t wait to watch Zeke put on more shows! As always, Bear Down Arizona!