Zeke Nnaji, a 6-foot-9 junior forward from Hopkins (MN) High, is one of the top forwards in the Midwest in the Class of 2019,
Nnaji is averaging 19.6 points per game this season as Hopkins is off to an 10-1 start. He scored in double figures in every game, including six games of 20 or more points. Naji scored a career-high 26 points twice in games versus Fridley and St. Thomas Academy.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Nnaji to talk about the latest on his recruitment and junior season.
Gopher Hole: You are a junior now. What do you see the biggest change from your game from last year to this year? You obviously lost some key seniors like Simon Wright (who is now at Elon) and Ishmael El-Amin (Ball State) and you have had to step up your game.
Zeke Nnaji: I definitely think that we are moving the ball a little bit more. We are playing better defense. I think that we are trying to concentrate more on what we have to do as a team together. . Last year, we did a lot of individual ball and one-on-one stuff and we weren’t as fluid on offense, but this year, we are moving the ball. We are all being unselfish and just doing what we need to win as a team rather than for your individual self.
Gopher Hole: How about individually? How do you think that your game has changed from last year to this year?
Zeke Nnaji: I think that I got a lot stronger. I’ve been lifting a lot over the offseason, trying to get stronger, so I can handle the physicality of this level. I think that I have been working a lot on my range and trying to expand my range and my shot and also finishing when there is contact on me on the inside,
Gopher Hole: What are you up to right now, height and weight-wise?
Zeke Nnaji: 220. 6-9.
Gopher Hole: What were you last year?
Zeke Nnaji: I was about 195 and 6-7, 6-8. .
Gopher Hole: Quite a difference in your weight. What all have you been trying to do to put on some weight? Just eating more and lifting or what other things have you been doing.
Zeke Nnaji: I’ve been eating a lot. Whatever food I can put in my body, I am just going to eat it, but then also, the lifting has turned that into muscle, too.
Gopher Hole: What does your mom say about the increased grocery bill?
Zeke Nnaji: She is like “You are eating me out of this house. I have no food in the cabinets.”
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for Hopkins? Last year was a little disappointing. You didn’t make it to the state tournament, which doesn’t happen very often, to be honest, for Hopkins. What are the expectations for you guys this year?
Zeke Nnaji: I mean, we want to get as far as we can. We want to have a very successful season. Do well as a team and just try to go all the way.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment? I think you have five scholarship offers. You have a Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Creighton offers. What other schools are you hearing from besides those five?
Zeke Nnaji: I’m hearing from Butler, Purdue, Stanford and Xavier.
Gopher Hole: Did you get a chance to go to many college football games this fall to check out some schools? I think you were at Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. What do you gain from those experiences when you get a chance to look at some of these campuses?
Zeke Nnaji: Definitely, get to see the culture. They can send you flyers, but you never get to see it in person, so when you get to go there, you get to see the atmosphere, the people and the relationships and how they value relationships and the education, too.
Gopher Hole: A lot of kids might not get the chance to check out those schools this early in their recruitment. Is it nice that you have been given this opportunity and get a little bit of a head start over some kids?
Zeke Nnaji: I am very grateful for it. I am not trying to take it for granted. Just enjoy the process.
Gopher Hole: Do you watch a lot of college basketball?
Zeke Nnaji: Yes.
Gopher Hole: When you watch a game, are there certain players or certain things you watch for?
Zeke Nnaji: I definitely try to watch defense, because I enjoy defense. I like to watch good defensive teams like Michigan State. How they all help and how they play together as a team. How they rotate and stuff like that.
Gopher Hole: Are there certain players they you look for, like a favorite player?
Zeke Nnaji: I try to keep up with some of the guys that I know and played with before like Marvin Bagley, Gary Trent and Brad Davison of Wisconsin.
Gopher Hole: Is it kind of cool to see players like Trent and Davison, both Minnesota kids who are having a lot of success as freshman already?
Zeke Nnaji: Yes. It is great to just know that they are able to go out there and have the same kind of success that they were having when they were playing at a high school level.
Gopher Hole: Does that make you think that if you put in the hard work that they did, that you can have that same success, too?
Zeke Nnaji: Yes, definitely. It just motivates me to want to keep getting even better.
Gopher Hole: I know that it still a ways away from you making a college decision, but what are going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over School B or C?
Zeke Nnaji: Definitely, how they value relationships and the atmosphere of the facility and also the culture that they have and how they value culture.
Gopher Hole: You were at the Gopher game versus Miami a few weeks ago. They had a lot recruits there. What was that atmosphere like?
Zeke Nnaji: It was crazy. It was wild. Everyone was on their feet and every bucket, the whole crowd would go wild. It was fun.
Gopher Hole: The Gophers have some kids that you played with in AAU like Daniel Oturu, Jarvis Omersa and Gabe Kalscheur coming in next year. Does that make you look at the Gophers differently because you have a good relationship with those guys?
Zeke Nnaji: I mean, I’m still going to keep my options open. I’m not going to favor one team because who I know that went there, but they are definitely giving me a hard time about going over there with them.
Gopher Hole: What is it going to mean to you to play Division I basketball?
Zeke Nnaji: It means the world because I have been dreaming about that since as early as I can remember. I just look at TV, see NBA, see college basketball and I just wanted to be there, so now that I am getting there I know it is a good feeling.
Gopher Hole: The Gophers have offered you. What would it mean to maybe play for the homestsate school?
Zeke Nnaji: It would be great. It would be a great honor because I have watched them a lot and I have a lot of family that are big fans of them when I was growing up and still are today. My mom went to Minnesota, too. My whole family would be really happy about that.
Gopher Hole: You have been to a lot of college games. What will it mean to you when you walk on your home court for your first college game?
Zeke Nnaji: It will mean a lot. Like I said, I have had a lot of dreams since I have been a kid. Going from AAU national championships, high state championships and college NCAA championships and obviously to the NBA, so I am just trying to work my way up. Grind and stay getting better, so I can fulfill my dreams.