Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Ugo Nwaigwe: A New Member of the Family
2.29.16 | Women's Basketball
Growing up in Valley Stream, New York, the one thing that meant everything to Ugo Nwaigwe was family. Being one of four children, Nwaigwe is very family-oriented and has close relationships with her parents, grandparents, and extended family.
When the 6-foot-3 center was attending Valley Stream South High School, basketball played a big role in her life. As her sophomore year was coming to a close, Nwaigwe realized that playing at the next level was a possibility and something that interested her. Universities started contacting Nwaigwe and she knew that it was time for her to play her best basketball.
During her junior season, she put up 13.3 points, 14.4 rebounds and 6.1 blocks per game en route to being named to the All-Conference team.
In her senior campaign, Nwaigwe boosted her numbers to 17.1 points, 14.2 rebounds, 6.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game, earning All-Class honors and graduating as a member of four different honor societies and as an AP Scholar.
During that senior season, the offers started to roll in and Nwaigwe was sold on taking her talents to Staten Island and Wagner College due to promises and guarantees by her coaching staff.
In her freshman year as a Seahawk, Nwaigwe played in 26 games starting in contests against LIU Brooklyn and Quinnipiac. In her start against the Bobcats, Nwaigwe scored a career-high eight points to go with six rebounds in a productive 11-minute second-career start.
Nwaigwe followed up her freshman season with a productive sophomore year averaging 3.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
It was then in her junior year that Nwaigwe broke out and made a name for herself. After becoming a fulltime starter she received a plethora of accolades while climbing her way to the top of the conference in multiple categories.
Nwaigwe finished as the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, ranking fourth nationally and first in the NEC for blocked shots per game with 3.8. On her way to these league leading numbers, the NEC Defensive POY registered 5 or more blocks in nine different games.
Nwaigwe also ranked first in the conference in field goal percentage (.630) and fourth in rebounds per game (10.2).
On top of all of her rankings and awards, Nwaigwe set two school records – first recording the programs first ever triple double (12 points, 19 rebounds & a school-record 13 blocked shots) and then ending the season with a school best 113 blocked shots on the year.
After some coaching inconsistencies over her first three years at Wagner, Nwaigwe began to lose her passion for the game of basketball. Just five games into her senior season, she decided to leave the team.
"I was recruited by four coaches that I loved with all my heart," Nwaigwe said. "After my first year, they left and I really didn't connect with the new coaches. It really took a strain on me – I was very unhappy."
Nwaigwe took some time over the next few months to focus on her academics and even visited family in Nigeria, where both of her parents were born. While in Africa, she began to realize that the little things in life are most important.
"I never thought I was going to play again," Nwaigwe said. "I didn't realize how unhappy basketball was making me until I saw how the smallest things made people happy and I could relax."
Before leaving the states, over a dozen teams reached out to the reigning NEC Defensive POY, looking to recruit her to play. But it wasn't until she returned to the US that her desire for playing returned.
"Once I got back to the states, I realized I wanted to play again and I had a couple offers, but I wasn't content with those offers and felt I deserved better."
After extensive research on multiple schools, Nwaigwe looked the Temple's roster of coaches and players and something stood out to her – a concept of family.
"I saw Coach [Tonya] Cardoza coached under Coach Geno [Auriemma] and then Coach Will [Crockett] played at UConn under Coach Cardoza," Nwaigwe said.
"Right there, that's family – you played for her and you trust her enough to hire her. That says something about Coach Cardoza and something about Coach Will also - there was a connection."
Based on this, Nwaigwe reached out to Crockett to inquire about joining the team. While making visits to former NEC foe Quinnipiac and Temple's cross town rival LaSalle, but Temple stood out.
"I was blown away on my visit [at Temple]. When I first went to Wagner, it was a family atmosphere and that faded away," Nwaigwe said. "I saw in practice where Coach Cardoza was fake boxing with one of her players – I didn't have that type of relationship with my coaches at Wagner, we couldn't play around."
The concept of a group of coaches and players being more than a group of people who strictly competed on the court and acted more like a family – that's what stood out, that's what made Nwaigwe decide that her next stop was on North Broad Street.
"This might be the place," Nwaigwe said. "I was just extremely sold on the relationship the coaches had with each other and the relationship the coaches had with the players – that was very important to me."
After she made her decision and a few months passed, it was time to report for summer classes.
Nwaigwe reported to campus looking forward to her first day of grad classes. She was a bit nervous because she realized that she was enrolled in a course at the Ambler Campus and the shuttles buses didn't run over the summer.
Nwaigwe spoke with Cardoza and was worried about missing class. But once again, family took away the grad student's worries.
"You're family now. Here's my keys – drive to class," junior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald told her worried teammate.
This resonated with Nwaigwe. This action by a teammate that she barely knew solidified Nwaigwe's decisions from the past eight months.
"From that day on, here's where I'm supposed to be," Nwaigwe said. "This one year here so far has been the best year of my college basketball career."
Preseason came and went and the season was steadily approaching. Nwaigwe was nervous. She wasn't sure what her role was going to be on the Temple team.
As the season began, Nwaigwe saw little action of the bench for the Owls. It wasn't until the fifth game of the season, against Big 5 rival Saint Joe's, that Nwaigwe saw a significant amount of playing time.
Coming off the bench, Nwaigwe played 21 minutes, converting on two baskets and snagging six rebounds. But that was just the beginning.
Nwaigwe knew that she needed to spend extra time in the gym. She spent countless hours in the gym practicing her free throws and lay-ups. The grad student recalls assistant coach Meg Barber helping her spark her play at Temple.
"You need to spend more time in the gym with me," Nwaigwe recalls Barber telling her.
During a one-on-one session, Barber approaches Nwaigwe, who's been struggling with left handed lay ups, to her her that today she needs to make 100 left handed lay-ups in a row.
"I saw so much talent in her when I had the ability to work with her one-on-one, especially throughout the summer," noted Barber. "But when she got on the floor in practice she was kind of nervous and couldn't get it all together. So I went in the gym and said today we're going to do something different, something we hadn't done before."
During the first set, Nwaigwe hit 10 in a row and then missed the eleventh. Barber continued to motivate her and on the second set, Nwaigwe made 100 left handed lay-ups in a row.
"I really thought we would be there for the whole hour shooting left handed lay-ups," remembered Barber. "I was firing balls at her, it wasn't easy, she caught everything, she finished everything."
Nwaigwe then broke out in tears, knowing this refueled her confidence and would lead her to better play on the floor.
Barber affirmed this confidence. "I said to her afterwards, that not many people are capable of that, and what you just did today… there's your confidence."
"Sometimes the players want you to give them confidence, but what I think she learned that day was that confidence has to come from the work that you put in and your belief in yourself," added Barber.
Since her one-on-one session after the Saint Joe's game, Nwaigwe has been a crucial member in the post for the Owls, averaging 16 min., 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 35.7 field goal percentage per game.
"Ugo is a spark, she's a really hard worker," said Barber. "She's very humble and her game isn't selfish, she's just looking to come in and make an impact in whatever way that she can."
In her most recent game, the center hit Temple career-highs in points (8), rebounds (9), and blocks (5), showing that her role in her new family is growing every day.
"She's really a coaches' dream. She has a stronger work ethic than almost anyone I've ever worked with. That's something you can't always teach. I wish we had her for longer."
When the 6-foot-3 center was attending Valley Stream South High School, basketball played a big role in her life. As her sophomore year was coming to a close, Nwaigwe realized that playing at the next level was a possibility and something that interested her. Universities started contacting Nwaigwe and she knew that it was time for her to play her best basketball.
During her junior season, she put up 13.3 points, 14.4 rebounds and 6.1 blocks per game en route to being named to the All-Conference team.
In her senior campaign, Nwaigwe boosted her numbers to 17.1 points, 14.2 rebounds, 6.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game, earning All-Class honors and graduating as a member of four different honor societies and as an AP Scholar.
During that senior season, the offers started to roll in and Nwaigwe was sold on taking her talents to Staten Island and Wagner College due to promises and guarantees by her coaching staff.
In her freshman year as a Seahawk, Nwaigwe played in 26 games starting in contests against LIU Brooklyn and Quinnipiac. In her start against the Bobcats, Nwaigwe scored a career-high eight points to go with six rebounds in a productive 11-minute second-career start.
Nwaigwe followed up her freshman season with a productive sophomore year averaging 3.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
It was then in her junior year that Nwaigwe broke out and made a name for herself. After becoming a fulltime starter she received a plethora of accolades while climbing her way to the top of the conference in multiple categories.
Nwaigwe finished as the Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, ranking fourth nationally and first in the NEC for blocked shots per game with 3.8. On her way to these league leading numbers, the NEC Defensive POY registered 5 or more blocks in nine different games.
Nwaigwe also ranked first in the conference in field goal percentage (.630) and fourth in rebounds per game (10.2).
On top of all of her rankings and awards, Nwaigwe set two school records – first recording the programs first ever triple double (12 points, 19 rebounds & a school-record 13 blocked shots) and then ending the season with a school best 113 blocked shots on the year.
After some coaching inconsistencies over her first three years at Wagner, Nwaigwe began to lose her passion for the game of basketball. Just five games into her senior season, she decided to leave the team.
"I was recruited by four coaches that I loved with all my heart," Nwaigwe said. "After my first year, they left and I really didn't connect with the new coaches. It really took a strain on me – I was very unhappy."
Nwaigwe took some time over the next few months to focus on her academics and even visited family in Nigeria, where both of her parents were born. While in Africa, she began to realize that the little things in life are most important.
"I never thought I was going to play again," Nwaigwe said. "I didn't realize how unhappy basketball was making me until I saw how the smallest things made people happy and I could relax."
Before leaving the states, over a dozen teams reached out to the reigning NEC Defensive POY, looking to recruit her to play. But it wasn't until she returned to the US that her desire for playing returned.
"Once I got back to the states, I realized I wanted to play again and I had a couple offers, but I wasn't content with those offers and felt I deserved better."
After extensive research on multiple schools, Nwaigwe looked the Temple's roster of coaches and players and something stood out to her – a concept of family.
"I saw Coach [Tonya] Cardoza coached under Coach Geno [Auriemma] and then Coach Will [Crockett] played at UConn under Coach Cardoza," Nwaigwe said.
"Right there, that's family – you played for her and you trust her enough to hire her. That says something about Coach Cardoza and something about Coach Will also - there was a connection."
Based on this, Nwaigwe reached out to Crockett to inquire about joining the team. While making visits to former NEC foe Quinnipiac and Temple's cross town rival LaSalle, but Temple stood out.
"I was blown away on my visit [at Temple]. When I first went to Wagner, it was a family atmosphere and that faded away," Nwaigwe said. "I saw in practice where Coach Cardoza was fake boxing with one of her players – I didn't have that type of relationship with my coaches at Wagner, we couldn't play around."
The concept of a group of coaches and players being more than a group of people who strictly competed on the court and acted more like a family – that's what stood out, that's what made Nwaigwe decide that her next stop was on North Broad Street.
"This might be the place," Nwaigwe said. "I was just extremely sold on the relationship the coaches had with each other and the relationship the coaches had with the players – that was very important to me."
After she made her decision and a few months passed, it was time to report for summer classes.
Nwaigwe reported to campus looking forward to her first day of grad classes. She was a bit nervous because she realized that she was enrolled in a course at the Ambler Campus and the shuttles buses didn't run over the summer.
Nwaigwe spoke with Cardoza and was worried about missing class. But once again, family took away the grad student's worries.
"You're family now. Here's my keys – drive to class," junior guard Feyonda Fitzgerald told her worried teammate.
This resonated with Nwaigwe. This action by a teammate that she barely knew solidified Nwaigwe's decisions from the past eight months.
"From that day on, here's where I'm supposed to be," Nwaigwe said. "This one year here so far has been the best year of my college basketball career."
Preseason came and went and the season was steadily approaching. Nwaigwe was nervous. She wasn't sure what her role was going to be on the Temple team.
As the season began, Nwaigwe saw little action of the bench for the Owls. It wasn't until the fifth game of the season, against Big 5 rival Saint Joe's, that Nwaigwe saw a significant amount of playing time.
Coming off the bench, Nwaigwe played 21 minutes, converting on two baskets and snagging six rebounds. But that was just the beginning.
Nwaigwe knew that she needed to spend extra time in the gym. She spent countless hours in the gym practicing her free throws and lay-ups. The grad student recalls assistant coach Meg Barber helping her spark her play at Temple.
"You need to spend more time in the gym with me," Nwaigwe recalls Barber telling her.
During a one-on-one session, Barber approaches Nwaigwe, who's been struggling with left handed lay ups, to her her that today she needs to make 100 left handed lay-ups in a row.
"I saw so much talent in her when I had the ability to work with her one-on-one, especially throughout the summer," noted Barber. "But when she got on the floor in practice she was kind of nervous and couldn't get it all together. So I went in the gym and said today we're going to do something different, something we hadn't done before."
During the first set, Nwaigwe hit 10 in a row and then missed the eleventh. Barber continued to motivate her and on the second set, Nwaigwe made 100 left handed lay-ups in a row.
"I really thought we would be there for the whole hour shooting left handed lay-ups," remembered Barber. "I was firing balls at her, it wasn't easy, she caught everything, she finished everything."
Nwaigwe then broke out in tears, knowing this refueled her confidence and would lead her to better play on the floor.
Barber affirmed this confidence. "I said to her afterwards, that not many people are capable of that, and what you just did today… there's your confidence."
"Sometimes the players want you to give them confidence, but what I think she learned that day was that confidence has to come from the work that you put in and your belief in yourself," added Barber.
Since her one-on-one session after the Saint Joe's game, Nwaigwe has been a crucial member in the post for the Owls, averaging 16 min., 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 35.7 field goal percentage per game.
"Ugo is a spark, she's a really hard worker," said Barber. "She's very humble and her game isn't selfish, she's just looking to come in and make an impact in whatever way that she can."
In her most recent game, the center hit Temple career-highs in points (8), rebounds (9), and blocks (5), showing that her role in her new family is growing every day.
"She's really a coaches' dream. She has a stronger work ethic than almost anyone I've ever worked with. That's something you can't always teach. I wish we had her for longer."
Players Mentioned
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