Rainbow Wahine basketball: Nnenna Orji made best of COVID season
Nov. 18—Looking back a couple of years, Nnenna Orji now sees definite value in a season of uncertainty.
Looking back a couple of years, Nnenna Orji now sees definite value in a season of uncertainty.
With a 2020-21 schedule limited to 17 games played in empty venues and each date tenuous until the opening tip due to COVID-19 protocols, the season amounted to a partial introduction to the college basketball experience for Hawaii's class of newcomers.
Yet the minutes Orji and her fellow "COVID freshmen " were able to spend on the court that winter and early spring set a foundation for the season to follow.
"Definitely I feel like that year was the best thing, personally, I could have had, " Orji said. "It basically was a year of experience and it definitely builds my confidence.
"The pace we play at in college was so much different. It was a hard adjustment, but thankfully that year did help us and last year shows what happens after we were all ready."
Orji eased her way into the rotation coming off the bench in 2021, then worked her way into the starting lineup for 13 games while contributing in all 30 in UH's run to the Big West regular-season and tournament championships.
She started both games in last week's road trip to Oregon State and Portland as part of a post group with a broad range of collegiate experience.
The Rainbow Wahine feature a second-year graduate student in Kallin Spiller, who began her career in 2017, when freshmen Imani Perez and Avery Watkins were still in middle school.
Orji, now in her third year in the program, bridges the age gap, having trailed her older sister into a collegiate basketball career.
Leilia Orji preceded Nnenna in a career that started in Seattle and ended at Cal Poly Pomona. As Leilia was finishing off her playing career, Nnenna was set to graduate from Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., before heading off to Hawaii.
"I've definitely been following in her footsteps since high school—we even have the same number, " Orji said, pointing out the No. 14 on her practice jersey. "So I definitely got it from my big sister, definitely an inspiration to me.
"I talk to her all the time. Of course, she wants to come visit. We're trying to make it happen."
Spiller played with Leilia Orji at Seattle in the 2017-18 season, when she was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Spiller made her collegiate debut against Hawaii that season, converting on her lone field-goal attempt in the Redhawks' 73-58 loss to the Rainbow Wahine in Seattle.
She transferred to Columbia and turned down an opportunity to begin her career in finance in New York to finish out her final two years of college basketball eligibility in Hawaii.
The 6-foot-3 forward joined the'Bows as a graduate transfer last season and averaged 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while leading the team with 23 blocked shots.
She returns for her second season as a team captain, along with guards McKenna Haire and Olivia Davies, and poses a physical presence in the paint and a threat behind the 3-point line. She hit two from long range against Oregon State and led UH with 10 rebounds against Portland.
"All of our freshmen, all of our newbies have really pushed our returners, and they've just adapted so well to the team, " Spiller said after UH's exhibition game against Hawaii Pacific. "It's been fun. I've been trying to share some knowledge that I've learned over my six years, but they're definitely stepping up and it's super fun to see them shine."
Sophomore forward Jacque David possesses a similar skill set and came up with a key defensive stop in the paint in the final seconds of a 48-47 win over CSU Bakersfield in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament.
The trio of post returnees are joined by Perez (6 feet 4 ) and Watkins (6 feet ) and senior Meg Jefferson, a transfer from Virginia.
The 6-foot-3 Jefferson continues UH's connection with Australia following the graduation of Amy Atwell. Perez scored her first collegiate points with seven off the bench against Portland and had already made an impact with her presence in practice.
"Having Imani here, as long and tall as she is, it really helps me learn how to shoot away from her and finish, " Orji said. "We all push each other."
