Egwu: "It was like flipping a coin sometimes"

-To read about Egwu's announcement from this afternoon, click here.

CHAMPAIGN - The start of Nnanna Egwu's basketball career can be traced back to a specific afternoon.

"June 6, 2007," Illinois Wolves coach Mike Mullins said.

That was when, Egwu said today, he played organized basketball for the first time. An assistant coach at the school, Ken Gryzwa, had suggested to Egwu that, at 6-foot-6 or so, the sport might be in his future.

That future is expected to include a college career at Illinois after Egwu gave coach Bruce Weber a verbal commitment today.

"To go 2 1/2 years from picking up a ball and committing to a Division I level, BCS-level, Big Ten basketball program, it's a very unique story," said Mullins, who coaches Egwu on the club circuit.

"I can't remember a player who has come this far as a player in two years," said Joe Henricksen, a talent evaluator with Chicago's City/Suburban Hoops Report.

A native of Nigeria, Egwu and his family moved to the U.S. about 10 years ago. The St. Ignatius junior returned to his homeland for the first time in August.

Illinois was the leader for Egwu from the start, and the Illini were under the assumption they were in the lead. But when the UI coaches learned Purdue had made a late push, Weber tripped to St. Ignatius early this week to make certain the Illini were still in good standing. The recruitment came down to the wire and made for some anxious times in the UI basketball offices.

"It was really tough for me. You could basically just flip a coin sometimes," Egwu said today. "But just playing for your own state and getting your own state a championship and playing for a guy like coach Weber, I thought I had the best chance to win a championship and to become the best I can be at Illinois."

"It was a 50-50 decision over the last few weeks," Mullins said.

Egwu said the hardest part of the process was telling Purdue coach Matt Painter and assistant Jack Owens that he would commit to Illinois.

"I really like and I really respect Purdue and coach Painter and coach Owens and I would love to play for them," he said. "But Illinois and coach (Bruce) Weber and (Jerrance) coach Howard did a great job recruiting me and that's where I decided to go."

"While Egwu is nowhere near a finished product and is still quite raw, picking up a legitimate big man with so much upside and potential to grow as a player is absolutely pivotal for any program at any level," Henricksen said. "Big men are at such a premium. Throw in the fact he's an in-state product and Illinois worked so hard for so long, it would have been awfully tough for Illinois and its staff to lose out on this one."

Egwu, who is coached at St. Ignatius by Richard Kehoe and Gryzwa, measures about 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds. He is a work in progress, with natural athletic ability and unrefined ball skills, but his improvement over a short time makes him a promising prospect.

"I think the reason he was recruited is that people saw what he became in a year. The progress he made was just tremendous," Mullins said. "He has the ability to run the floor. He has an intuitive sense to block shots, and he does it without fouling. He gets rebounds out of his area. He's been able to develop a jump-hook and a face-up 15-footer.

"As he added some offensive proponents this past July, the people saw the need to get him that much more. And he has two years before he sets foot on a college campus."

Henricksen added, "The speed of the game still gives him some problems, but that will all come with more time on the floor and experience. He's like a sponge. He's an off-the-charts character kid with maturity and a willingness to learn."

Prospects in the 2011 class can sign letters of intent in November 2010, about 13 months from now. Illinois has a pair of 2011 prospects in the fold - Egwu and Chicago Mt. Carmel point guard Tracy Abrams - and would like to add at least two more, with the potential to add three more. St. Louis-area guard Bradley Beal, who text messages often with 2010 commitments Crandall Head and Meyers Leonard, arguably is the No. 1 target.

The three prospects in the 2010 class - Head, Leonard and Jereme Richmond - are expected to make their official visits to the UI campus this weekend.

pklee@news-gazette.com

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