Madison Memorial's Princess Nwachukwu looks to back down a Madison La Follette defender during Friday night's Big Eight Conference game at Madison Memorial High School.
olivia janik
Princess Nwachuwku was in awe when Coppin State women's basketball coach Darrell Mosley called the Madison Memorial standout to offer her a spot on next year's team.
"I was just kind of in shock at first, I ran downstairs while he was still on the phone, ran back up to my room," Nwachukwu recalled. "It was kind of a really special moment for me."
Nwachukwu shook off that initial amazement and committed to Division-I Coppin State -- a historically Black college or university in Baltimore -- on May 3 after visiting earlier in the week. It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Nwachukwu, who almost gave up on it after tearing her ACL the summer prior to her freshman year at Madison Memorial.
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"Freshman year, that dream was sort of fading away," she recalled.
But Nwachukwu committed herself to a lengthy rehab process and finally debuted for the Spartans midway through her sophomore season.
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"It's a really grueling rehab process and for her to commit to that at that young age, it's just a testament to the resilience and the fortitude that she has," Madison Memorial coach Marques Flowers said.
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By her senior season with the Spartans, Nwachukwu had developed into the player her coach knew she could be. She averaged 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds a game, securing the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Moseley, who was named the program's new head coach on April 14, took note of Nwachukwu's play and was able to get in touch with the talented senior through her AAU coach at Legends United.
On their first phone call, Nwachukwu was struck by Mosley's willingness to listen and the coach's transparency regarding what expectations he would have for her.
"It was good to hear from a coach right there and then," she said. "Just him telling me up front what he sees from me as a player."
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It wasn't long before Nwachukwu received the phone call that sent her running down the stairs in shock and scheduling a trip to Baltimore.
Four days after her official visit, Nwachukwu committed to the Eagles. She'll be joining a team composed completely of transfers and freshmen, which she sees as an opportunity to succeed.
"Everybody's spot is up for grabs," Nwachukwu said. "I'm ready to prove something to the coaches every day, that I belong here."
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Flowers, who has coached Nwachukwu since she was a member of the Madison Memorial youth program, believes that her defensive motor and energy on the court will translate well to the college level and help earn her playing time as a freshman.
"[Coaches] want a kid who's going to play hard and understands how to play hard, isn't going to be too cool to play hard," he said. "She's going to do that right away."
Nwachukwu's motor, especially when it came to rebounding, served her well in high school. Despite playing just two and a half seasons with the Spartans, Nwachukwu totaled 674 rebounds, less than 40 shy of the program record.
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She was also named to the All-State honorable mention team as a senior and was a finalist for the Wisconsin Sports Network award for the best senior post player.
Nwachukwu credits all of her success at the high school level and her ability to play at the D-I level next year to her work ethic.
"My coach said this to me recently, 'When Princess does the work, Princess can accomplish whatever she wants,'" she said, "and I feel like this is proof of that."
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