Biography
By Jim Hague
Being a product of Nigerian parents, it was only natural that Ihueze Nwosu (pronounced AY-ZAY NEW-AH-SUE) would first become a soccer player growing up.
“I was actually a pretty good soccer player when I was in middle school,” Nwosu said. “I was a goalie and a midfielder and I did pretty good.”
But around that same time, Nwosu noticed his next door neighbor, who was a basketball player at Franklin High School, constantly playing basketball in his driveway.
“I was younger, but I always saw him outside playing,” Nwosu said. “One day, he told me to come over and shoot with him.”
Nwosu doesn’t remember the neighbor’s last name. He was simply known as Justin. But Justin was the one who helped to change Nwosu’s life forever.
“I owe a lot to Justin,” Nwosu said. “That was the start.”
Nwosu went on to play basketball at Franklin and had a good career there, eventually earning the program’s Most Outstanding Player as a senior. He played at Franklin for veteran basketball coach Joe Whalen, who is currently an assistant coach at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth.
“Coach Whalen definitely motivated me,” Nwosu said. “He always told me to work hard and if I did, good things would happen. He always told me my work ethic was good.”
During his high school days, Nwosu always realized the value of a good education.
“It was always getting an education first,” Nwosu said. “Throughout my days at Franklin, I made sure I did well in the classroom.”
Nwosu comes from a strong educational background in his family, as his father owns a Ph.D. in business and his mother is a social worker who deals with handicapped children. Nwosu also has an older sister who is pursuing a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences.
So when it came time for Nwosu to select a college, academics was the sole priority.
“Initially, I was going to go to Seton Hall, but by the end of my senior year, when I got accepted to Rutgers, that’s where I knew I was going to go,” Nwosu said. “I was really going to school to get an education.”
But when Nwosu said he was going to Rutgers-Newark, Whalen made a call on Nwosu’s behalf to R-N head coach Joe Loughran.
“I didn’t know much about him when he came to us,” Loughran said. “But he was basically coming to us as a walk-on. We didn’t give him any guarantees.”
“I didn’t know any of the players when I initially got here, but I went a lot of times to open gym to play,” Nwosu said. “My roommate is Mark Moorman (another player on the Scarlet Raiders’ roster) and he encouraged me to try out for the team. When I tried out, I thought I could make the team, even with the older players there.”
Loughran liked what he saw in Nwosu, but made no promises.
“We told him right away that he probably wouldn’t make the court and if he did play, it wouldn’t be much,” Loughran said. “I told him he had no room for error.”
Nwosu didn’t mind.
“I stuck with it and definitely accepted the challenge,” Nwosu said. “I just kept working hard. I went to camps and played in the summer. I did a lot of work on my own to get better. I thought if I worked hard enough, Coach Loughran would trust me enough to get a chance to play.”
Nwosu saw limited playing time in both his freshman and sophomore years, but when the 2011-12 season began last month, Nwosu saw his playing time increase.
“He just likes to play,” Loughran said. “He’s always in the gym. He played a lot in the off-season and improved a lot. He always knew how to defend, but he improved a little offensively. His worked a lot on his shot. Since he made some great improvements and he’s gotten bigger and stronger, so we’re starting to sneak him in there more and more.”
Nwosu scored seven points in a recent win over Moravian and has seen action in seven of the Scarlet Raiders’ first eight games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds. He’s also connected on 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
“The kids on the team really love him,” Loughran said of Nwosu. “He’s never a distraction and he’s always working hard. I think it says a lot about his character. He still has a long way to go and has to improve on some things, but the reason why he’s been somewhat successful is that he’s willing to work and wants to be here. He’s such a likeable kid that you want to root for him.”
Loughran believes that Nwosu is a strong performer on the defensive side of the floor.
“It’s the reason why he gets playing time,” Loughran said. “He has long arms and plays long. He understands what I want. He just needs to be a little more consistent. We’re excited to see how well he develops.”
Nwosu knows why he’s seeing more action in recent weeks.
“I think it’s basically hard work and dedication,” Nwosu said. “You can only do your best when you are willing to work hard. I give my best every game and I just keep on getting better.”
Nwosu is a double major at R-N, majoring in both psychology and criminal justice. He hopes to become a federal agent working in U.S. Customs and will attempt to get an internship in that field during this upcoming summer break.
For now, Nwosu is seeing more playing time and he’s excited about that opportunity.
“It feels pretty good to accomplish as much as I have,” Nwosu said. “I’m glad to have the chance to help my teammates try to win a championship this year.”
