Recruiting Report: Ike Nweke (2018)
For the majority of high school basketball players, the spring and summer is the best opportunity to establish their recruitment with college programs. Almost all of the credit there can go to the AAU circuit and the exposure it gives the kids to showcase their talents in front of hundreds of college coaches. When the summer is coming to a close, there comes a time to evaluate the players who helped boost their stock the most. 2018 Georgetown Prep forward Ike Nweke has forced his name into the conversation when talking about stock risers in the DMV area.
Nweke burst on the scene last season for Georgetown Prep after taking on a bigger role with more minutes. His freshman year consisted of playing junior varsity and his sophomore campaign was more of a learning experience on varsity from the sidelines.
“A lot of people didn’t know what to expect from me coming into last season,” Nweke told PrepHoops. “I had a coming out game sophomore year against Episcopal. We went to triple overtime and I finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. That was really big for me. I think I surprised a lot of people last season. I showed that I can knock down the mid-range shots consistently.”
The 6-6 forward has no shortage of posters consisting of powerful dunks. When you take all of them into consideration, Nweke could use them all for wallpaper in his room and still have some left over. The trio of Nweke, Jared Bynum (2018) and Mezie Offurum (2018) helped lead the Hoyas to a 20-6 overall record.
But Nweke isn’t just a dunker. He wanted to make it clear this past season that his game can make an impact in many other ways. With a combination of good size and athletic ability, it’s almost a given that he can be a force on the glass as a rebounder. Being that he is used to having to fit into a certain role when there were more talented scorers next to him, Nweke knows how to play the hustle role and do the little things that ultimately help his team win.
Nweke finished his AAU career in his second year with Team Melo’s EYBL 17U team. Instead of being one of the go-to scoring options, Nweke had to find his niche as he played alongside some of the most talented scorers in the country. That wasn’t a role that he let beat him down. Nweke embraced it.
“I held my own against the best players in the country,” Nweke said. “For my role I just tried to be the energy guy. Rebounding, locking down my man and getting dunks when I had the opportunity. Everyone on our team had the ability to impact the game offensively, but Anthony Higgs and I made the biggest difference by rebounding and locking our men down. I feel like we were a big key to our success.”
To go with his AAU grind, Nweke spearheaded what was a successful summer league for his Hoyas in a very competitive league at DeMatha. Georgetown Prep came up short in the championship to a tough St. John’s team, but Nweke feels as if their success is a sign for more to come in 2017-18.
“I think we’re just scratching the surface,” Nweke said on the expectations for the upcoming season. “I honestly think even though we are a young group, we can definitely keep on improving. With four Division I prospects, we can bring a lot of attention to the program, the school and to ourselves. We’re going to be huge contenders for the IAC and for our out of conference games against teams like St. John’s and Bishop O’Connell, we can definitely compete. I’m super excited to play all these teams and show them what we’re made of.”
As it was stated earlier, Nweke is one of the biggest stock risers in the area. He entered the AAU season with four total offers and currently stands at 14. With scheduled visits to Colgate (September 1) Columbia (September 8) in the coming weeks. He’ll visit Boston University in the end of September, but has not locked down a specific date. Army and Navy are also schools that Nweke is trying to lock in a date for an official visit as well. He hopes to commit sometime next month.
In terms of what has caught the eye of the colleges that have offered Nweke, it’s his well-rounded game and ability to fill many different roles. At 6-6, he has good size as a forward at the high school level, but coaches have spoken to him about playing some time at small forward as well. With that being said, Nweke is beginning to improve his range out to the three-point arc.
Georgetown Prep won’t be overlooked this year like they usually are, according to Nweke. Look for them to make quite the splash with big wins over strong programs led by their three seniors.
Video courtesy of CapitolHoops