Nigeria's Young Star Jordan Nwora ready for big year at Louisville

Austin Green

•
Nigeria's Young Star Jordan Nwora ready for big year at Louisville image

While university students around the world did summer internships, Louisville’s Jordan Nwora got buckets abroad in his Nigerian national team debut.

 

Nwora exploded onto the international basketball scene this summer, scoring 36 points in a win vs. Mali and helping Nigeria become the first team to qualify for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

 

His 36-point effort was the highest scoring game for any African player during the qualifiers, and the most points ever by a Nigerian man in a major international tournament.

 

A couple months later, Nwora turned 20-years-old.

 

 

The young star delighted the home crowd in Lagos, Nigeria, flying through the air for dunks and showing impressive skills for a 6-foot-8 wing.

 

He played three qualifying games with Nigeria, and he was an important contributor in each. He averaged 21.7 points and 8 rebounds per game as Nigeria cruised to blowout wins over Uganda, Rwanda and Mali. In his 36-point game, he made 5-of-11 three-pointers and had four steals. 

 

Nwora was a notable addition to the team, not only for his youth, but also because his father is the head coach. Nigeria hired Alexander Nwora — the head coach at Erie Community College in Buffalo, New York — in 2017.

 

This summer they became the first father-son duo to represent the Nigerian national team at the same time. Jordan said his teammates helped make it a good experience.

 

“They’re all pros, they know how the game works and everything, so they embraced me and they showed me a lot. I learned a lot when I was down there so it was good,” Nwora said in a September interview.

 

 

“Going into the games I just wanted to prove myself, as in the way I could play for that team, not just playing because my dad was the coach,” Nwora said. “That was probably my biggest thing. Just proving that I belong there.”

 

He did a lot more than that.

 

Nwora, who played 12 minutes per game as a freshman at Louisville, was one of only two players this summer to average at least 15 points and 9 rebounds per game at the African qualifiers.

 

The other was Senegalese center Gorgui Dieng, who also went to Louisville before entering the NBA in 2013.

 

 

While Nwora put up big numbers, they didn’t come easy. He said he had a few extra bruises after the qualifiers compared to games in the NCAA.

 

“The pace was different and just how physical it was — it was a different level of physicality than I’ve ever seen, especially being in Africa,” Nwora said. “It was fast, but like a controlled speed, you know what I mean? They all knew how to play the game.”

 

Nwora played a pretty limited role for Louisville as a freshman. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, but he showed his potential, scoring 15-plus points in four games.

 

After a breakout summer competing against seasoned pros, Nwora is ready for a big sophomore year with the Cardinals.

 

“It was a big boost with confidence and just overall it helped my game a lot going over there,” he said.

 

Nwora's teammates and coaches at Louisville were happy with his success in Nigeria, but now they have business to take care of in the NCAA.

 

“They thought I was doing good,” Nwora said, “but I at the end of the day I gotta come back here and keep working ‘cause we got a big season coming up ahead.”

 

Louisville’s regular season schedule tips off October 28. 

Austin Green