Nnaemeka Ikechi '24 Recruiting Profile

I started with basketball by peer pressure and others assuming that I would be good at it because I was tall and large. But soon however, I started to truly love and enjoy the game of basketball. It was the kind of thing that requires all of your focus, concentration, and work ethic to be good, so it took my mind off stress. Plus it's always fun to learn and see what my full capabilities are and how to improve. I've also learned through this sport that I can achieve what I want with the effort I put into it.

It has always been my dream since I was little to go to the NBA. I didn't have any specific job that I wanted to have. Just to work as hard as possible and let God take me where He wants me to go. A lot of factors have influenced me greatly during my basketball journey, such as being on many different basketball travel team and going to Oakland's basketball camp several times. My academic goals for high school and college are to be a valedictorian and have a 4.00 or higher GPA. It requires a lot of work, but all the good things in life do too, so I'm willing to work towards it.

I've had to overcome many obstacles to get here such as many losses. One loss that really effected me was when high school team lost in the state quarterfinals to Orchard Lake Saint Mary's at Calihan Hall and we our play off run tragically stopped there. However, I moved on, trained and got better so that we can compete and win the next time we play. A unique skill I have is that I am huge at 6 ft 5 and I'm able to rebound and be dominant in the post effectively.