#7 Mike Nzei
6-7 185 Position PF
With Mike it's all about potential. He is far more an athlete than he is a finished basketball product. Nzei needs serious work on his skill set, especially on the offensive side of the court. But his motor (think a skinny Delgado) is second to none and his bounce and quickness is exemplary.
Nzei is rail thin and with his physique he looks more like a SF than a PF. But his game says otherwise.
Strengths:
Nzei is a high level athlete who is equally mobile and bouncy. He covers the court, moves well laterally and is very quick off his feet. He's a high volume rebounder with a great nose for the ball who will come up with boards both in traffic as well as outside his area. He plays hard and has a motor and is consequently valuable atop any type of extended zone pressure. Offensively, he's an excellent finisher around the rim who not only bounces up for quick dunks but also has dexterity and a sense of when he needs to go to the other side of the rim. Nzei also has a developing mid-range touch and is capable of making an open jumper from the elbow or short-corner.
Weaknesses:
Nzei is just slightly undersized for the power forward position, at least at the highest levels of college basketball. He isn't much of a low post scoring threat and gets the vast majority of his points by rim running, going to the offensive glass, or via his guards' dribble penetration. He's not productive when looking to put the ball on the floor and more of a turnover threat with each bounce.
Bottom Line:
He's a high level athlete with a great motor and a clear niche in his ability to rebound the ball. He's probably never going to be an offensive star but because he's such a good finisher and capable mid-range shooter, he's not without value on that end.
This coming year:
Mike's resume might surprise some people as he was more an unknown quantity than maybe he should have been coming out of HS.
Nzei represented Nigeria at the 2012 Afrobasket U18 Championships in Mozambique. He played for Team Africa in its third place finish at the 2013 Adidas Nations Tournament and led the competition with 10.6 RPG, to go along with his 12.6 PPG and 1 BPG.
He also represented Pan-Africa at the 2013 Nike Global Challenge and participated in the NBA's Basketball without Borders Africa camp.
Mike played his AAU ball for the NJ Playaz in 2012 and New Heights in 2013. so as you can see strong BB competition is not foreign to him.
As most are aware Nzei, despite speaking multiple languages, scoring high in his ACTs, and doing very well in HS was red flagged by the NCAA due to his HS transcript. But in truth that didn't matter as a severe wrist injury and subsequent surgery shelved him for the entire 2014/15 season.
The wrist on his off shooting hand is still a problem but the thought is he will be around 90% or better by the time school starts in September.
That has caused some issues though as Mike has only recently been able to start lifting and adding weight and muscle to his thin frame. It has also hurt him on the court as Nzei needs to play as much as possible to enhance his game to match his athletics ability and become a more complete BB player.
I only saw Mike play once in HS. In that game, an All Star affair at the Barclays Center, Mike played like a man possessed. In truth I had no idea who I was watching as it was near impossible to identify the players by their uniforms because the numbers and color of the shirts were almost identical.
But I wasn't shocked one bit when I saw the final stat sheet. Mike led his team in rebounds and was near the top in points scored (mostly put backs).
Mike could be a very important member of this years team if healthy. He'll give Seton Hall strength off the bench in a position of need. He'll also impart energy that can be contagious and could become a fan favorite due to his style of play. But again that is all predicated on the health of his wrist.
6-7 185 Position PF
With Mike it's all about potential. He is far more an athlete than he is a finished basketball product. Nzei needs serious work on his skill set, especially on the offensive side of the court. But his motor (think a skinny Delgado) is second to none and his bounce and quickness is exemplary.
Nzei is rail thin and with his physique he looks more like a SF than a PF. But his game says otherwise.
Strengths:
Nzei is a high level athlete who is equally mobile and bouncy. He covers the court, moves well laterally and is very quick off his feet. He's a high volume rebounder with a great nose for the ball who will come up with boards both in traffic as well as outside his area. He plays hard and has a motor and is consequently valuable atop any type of extended zone pressure. Offensively, he's an excellent finisher around the rim who not only bounces up for quick dunks but also has dexterity and a sense of when he needs to go to the other side of the rim. Nzei also has a developing mid-range touch and is capable of making an open jumper from the elbow or short-corner.
Weaknesses:
Nzei is just slightly undersized for the power forward position, at least at the highest levels of college basketball. He isn't much of a low post scoring threat and gets the vast majority of his points by rim running, going to the offensive glass, or via his guards' dribble penetration. He's not productive when looking to put the ball on the floor and more of a turnover threat with each bounce.
Bottom Line:
He's a high level athlete with a great motor and a clear niche in his ability to rebound the ball. He's probably never going to be an offensive star but because he's such a good finisher and capable mid-range shooter, he's not without value on that end.
This coming year:
Mike's resume might surprise some people as he was more an unknown quantity than maybe he should have been coming out of HS.
Nzei represented Nigeria at the 2012 Afrobasket U18 Championships in Mozambique. He played for Team Africa in its third place finish at the 2013 Adidas Nations Tournament and led the competition with 10.6 RPG, to go along with his 12.6 PPG and 1 BPG.
He also represented Pan-Africa at the 2013 Nike Global Challenge and participated in the NBA's Basketball without Borders Africa camp.
Mike played his AAU ball for the NJ Playaz in 2012 and New Heights in 2013. so as you can see strong BB competition is not foreign to him.
As most are aware Nzei, despite speaking multiple languages, scoring high in his ACTs, and doing very well in HS was red flagged by the NCAA due to his HS transcript. But in truth that didn't matter as a severe wrist injury and subsequent surgery shelved him for the entire 2014/15 season.
The wrist on his off shooting hand is still a problem but the thought is he will be around 90% or better by the time school starts in September.
That has caused some issues though as Mike has only recently been able to start lifting and adding weight and muscle to his thin frame. It has also hurt him on the court as Nzei needs to play as much as possible to enhance his game to match his athletics ability and become a more complete BB player.
I only saw Mike play once in HS. In that game, an All Star affair at the Barclays Center, Mike played like a man possessed. In truth I had no idea who I was watching as it was near impossible to identify the players by their uniforms because the numbers and color of the shirts were almost identical.
But I wasn't shocked one bit when I saw the final stat sheet. Mike led his team in rebounds and was near the top in points scored (mostly put backs).
Mike could be a very important member of this years team if healthy. He'll give Seton Hall strength off the bench in a position of need. He'll also impart energy that can be contagious and could become a fan favorite due to his style of play. But again that is all predicated on the health of his wrist.
