In this Boeheim’s Army 2019 Player Series we will feature the members of this year’s TBT (The Basketball Tournament) squad, and what’s happened since we saw them last. Up next: Arinze Onuaku.
Boeheim’s Army is back for another summer in TBT (The Basketball Tournament), and this year’s squad may be the best ever assembled. From newbies to oldies, this group has it all. Among one of the fan favorites on the team is Arinze Onuaku.
Onuaku played for Syracuse basketball from 2005-2010. Standing at 6-foot-9 he was a forward/center who could both block shots and hold his ground against big bodies in the post as well as score at a high percentage when given the opportunity. Although injuries hindered him in college, he was definitely among the best big men Syracuse has ever had.
During his time on the Hill, Onuaku averaged 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, while also shooting about 65% from the field. That 64.8% shooting percentage is the best field goal percentage in Syracuse basketball history, according to Orangehoops.org.
In his senior season, he played in 32 games, starting 31 of them. However, it was the games he missed after the regular season ended that Syracuse fans will never forget.
In the first round of the Big East Tournament, Onuaku injured his quadriceps against Georgetown. The Orange would go on to lose that game as a result, but still, earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Orange still played well against Vermont and Gonzaga in the first two rounds of the tournament, but since Onuaku was still not back and could not play at all, No. 11 Butler shocked the Orange in the Sweet 16.
Many SU fans still believe to this day, that that 2009-2010 team may have been one of Syracuse’s best of all-time and that they should have won it all that year, but it was not to be. The loss of Onuaku showed how important he was to the team both on offense and defense. Without him, tough teams were just too hard to overcome.
After his college days were over, he would go on to play in Israel, the Philippines, the D-league (also known now as the G-League- a developmental league for the NBA), and briefly in the NBA, according to Orangehoops.org.
He would be named a G-League All-star three times (2013-2015) and averaged 14.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game in that league, according to Basketball.RealGM.com.
Boeheim’s Army Veteran
In addition to his pro career, Onuaku found time to play for Boeheim’s Army in 2018. His presence below the net on defense and offense was crucial in Boeheim’s Army run to make it to the semifinals of The Basketball Tournament.
In the first round against the South Jamaica Kings, his first TBT game, he only tallied five points and eight rebounds, according to The TBT website. However, Against Team Fancy in the second round, he kicked it up a notch. In that game, he recorded nine points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
In the quarterfinals against Armored Athlete, in what would turn out to be a nail biter, Onuaku recorded a tremendous 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the floor and paired it with six rebounds. However, in a loss to the Golden Eagles to the semifinals, Onuaku regressed to a six-point, three rebounds showing.
Though the numbers aren’t impressive other than against Armored Athlete in the quarterfinal last years, it shows what he is still capable of.
He is a big guy down in the post that corrals rebounds, blocks shots and shoots at a high rate when you need a bucket. In a tournament where scoring seems to be more important than defense, that is a huge plus for Boeheim’s Army.