CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ryan Odom isn’t shy about his love for Ugonna Onyenso.
“It’s hard for any coach to say they have favorites, but …” he joked postgame on Thursday afternoon, trailing off before finishing the sentence.
And it’s hard to blame him. The 7-foot senior, who helped lead the Virginia Cavaliers to an 81-74 win over NC State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, has been as valuable a weapon for UVA’s first-year head coach as anyone in Odom’s rotation.
Though Onyenso has come off the bench in
each of Virginia’s 32 games this season, he’s no second fiddle to starting center Johann Grunloh. The pair of giants make up the best defensive one-two punch in the ACC, and with Grunloh in foul trouble against the Wolfpack, Onyenso was thrust into a season-high 30 minutes of action on the biggest stage the ’Hoos have faced thus far this season.
Onyenso didn’t blink, taking full advantage of the opportunity by scoring eight points on 50% shooting from the floor, grabbing six rebounds, and blocking a season-high eight shots while dominating the paint on both ends of the floor.
With Onyenso holding down the frontcourt, NC State managed to convert on just 28.5% of its shots from inside the arc on Thursday, allowing the ’Hoos to overcome a sleepy start and advance to their ninth semifinals in the past 12 ACC Tournaments.
“I played some years overseas,” UVA forward Thjis De Ridder said, “and that’s probably the best shot blocker I ever saw in my life.”
Virginia’s opponents this season likely feel the same way as De Ridder. Despite playing just 18 minutes per game, Onyenso is averaging an astonishing 2.75 blocks, good for the second-best mark in the country. Additionally, his block percentage of 16.8 (via KenPom.com) is the single highest in the nation, one of many factors that led to Onyenso’s selection to the All-ACC Defensive Team, which was announced on Monday.
“For him to step up and be able to go that long in [the NC State] game says a lot about his physical fitness,” Odom noted. “And the impact that he had within the game was huge. We don’t win that game without his play overall.”
Onyenso’s timing on the defensive end and his undeniable impact this season seem effortless, but it’s been a long time coming for the UVA big man.
The No. 30 prospect in the class of 2023, according to ESPN, Onyenso reclassified to join the Kentucky Wildcats for the 2022-23 season. But the 7-footer didn’t hit the ground running in Lexington. Onyenso appeared in just 16 games as a freshman to the tune of 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
After the disappointing rookie campaign, Onyenso was given a slightly larger role as a sophomore (24 appearances, 14 starts, 3.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game). Though his defensive acumen began to shine (2.75 blocks per game) in year two at Kentucky, Onyenso went looking for a new home following his second collegiate season and landed at Kansas State.
Strangely, however, K-State head coach Jerome Tang relegated Onyenso back to the end of his rotation, and the former four-star recruit hit the transfer portal once again this past offseason. The third landing spot, thankfully for both him and the ’Hoos, seems to have been the charm.
“He’s found a home at the University of Virginia and within our basketball program,” Odom said. “I can remember when he first arrived, really quiet … not quite sure what was going to happen next, confidence a little bit shaken. Just to see him bloom where he’s been planted has been really special, not only for our coaching staff but for our players, as well.”
A native of Owerri, Nigeria, Onyenso was awarded the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award before tip-off on Thursday, a testament to his resilience on and off the court.
According to Andrew Ramspacher of UVA Today, Onyenso only has one relative in the United States, an uncle who lives in Wisconsin. In search of some home cooking, the towering center has leaned on a UVA grad student, who has “served her fellow countryperson a rotation of homemade dishes from their homeland of Nigeria,” Ramspacher wrote earlier this week.
The love that Onyenso garners in the locker room and around the UVA community is as palpable as his play on the court. In the NIL and transfer portal era of college athletics, it’s often hard for fans to feel connected with a revolving door of athletes. Onyenso is proof, however, that when you bring in the right people, it doesn’t matter how short-lived their time in a Virginia uniform may be.
It doesn’t hurt that Onyenso has saved his best basketball for March, either.
“I think he is [playing his best right now], there’s no question about it,” Odom said. “That’s the great thing about this team: they take up for one another. Johann gets two fouls early, Ugo steps up right away. Had he not, we probably would have been in trouble.”
Onyenso and the second-seeded ’Hoos take the floor once again on Friday night inside the Spectrum Center, where they’ll meet the third-seeded Miami Hurricanes with a trip to the ACC Tournament championship game on the line.
Tip-off is set for 7 PM EST, as Virginia and its shot-swatting big man look for win number 29 of the season.
