SE: Canadian Hoops, Former Teammates in the NBA and How Kaosi Ezeagu Arrived at K-State
Jul 22, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
It would have been a great story if Kaosi Ezeagu and his Canadian teammates struggled to adjust in their first season playing high school basketball in America.
There would probably need to be some adversity, a speech from their coach and at least two different training montages. Maybe something about how the baskets are just 10 feet here, too.
Here's the problem: Ezeagu and Hamilton Heights (Tennessee) went 31-7 and won the USA National Prep Tournament.
Even worse, he ran pick and rolls with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now the starting point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and shared the court with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.
"Everyone thinks we're soft up in Canada," Ezeagu said. "It's kind of like a chip on our shoulder. Everyone always thinks we're extremely different and we can't hang with the Americans."
Proving those people wrong is what brought Ezeagu to Hamilton Heights as a high school basketball player, UTEP as a college freshman and finally, K-State over the winter.
He received an NCAA waiver to play this season and will add experience to a seven-man recruiting class that should give the Wildcats a new look ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
What Ezeagu brings to the basketball court is a 7-1 wingspan, a soft touch in the post and a resume unlike most redshirt sophomores you might find around the Big 12.
"I've learned that you have to keep polishing your skills," Ezeagu said. "You can't just have a mish mash of different abilities and things, you have to come in to your freshman season with a skill that you can rely on."
With UTEP, Ezeagu came off the bench before starting the final seven games of his freshman season. It was a change from his high school career back in Ontario, where Ezeagu was the only player in the league to average a double-double during his senior season.
Ezeagu said his freshman season in El Paso was about learning to prepare for each opponent on the schedule.
"OK, so if I'm going into this game, maybe I need to rely on my hook shot, or in this game, it's my shot-blocking ability, now it's my rebounding or my passing," Ezeagu said. "You just need to have something tangible that you can rely on every game and then you can build from there."
Ezeagu led UTEP in blocked shots throughout his freshman season, but things really began to click in conference play. Elevated to the starting five, Ezeagu scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in UTEP's final home game of the season against Middle Tennessee.
As the Miners prepared for the 2019-20 season, it was clear that minutes in the frontcourt would be at a premium and UTEP decided to redshirt Ezeagu.
A few months later, he decided to continue his college basketball career elsewhere.
"When I made the decision, I was kind of nervous at first, because not a lot of schools have scholarships in the winter. Like, what's going to come about from this decision?" Ezeagu said. "Kansas State came around late December or early January, that's when I got the phone call."
Even before he arrived in Manhattan, Ezeagu said he knew K-State's reputation for playing defensive-minded basketball. After Bruce Weber traveled to Canada for a hometown visit, Ezeagu had an idea of what he might be able to accomplish with the Wildcats.
"He said I would have a role on this team because I've played college ball before and I could just be a factor on the floor and show the other forwards how to respond to different coverages and read scouting reports," Ezeagu said. "Just being a role model to the younger guys, provide scoring when necessary but also guard the other big men in this league who are really good."
Of course, as a redshirt sophomore looking to step into a leadership role, it helps to have a network of some of the most talented Canadian basketball players in the world to lean on.
Ezeagu's former teammate AJ Lawson led South Carolina in scoring last season, and he will face someone he grew up playing against in Gabe Osabuohien when K-State battles West Virginia.
When he was sitting out the 2019-20 season, Ezeagu said that watching Osabuohien play against the Wildcats in Manhattan helped him stay motivated.
"I told him, 'We'll see you next year and we're gonna play you tough.' There are a few Canadians playing around the league, so we compete with each other," Ezeagu said. "If you're good at basketball and from the Ontario area, everyone knows what's going on with you."
As he prepares for the night-in and night-out demands of a Big 12 schedule, that chip on Ezeagu's shoulder is still there. And finally, the Canadian big man has three years to do something about it, playing in the best conference in college basketball.
"Most conferences, you play a couple of schools that are good like every two weeks. Last season, K-State played (No. 2 ranked) Baylor and (No. 1 ranked) Kansas back-to-back. That motivates me," Ezeagu said. "I can't wait to play those guys, see what they're made of and how I stack up against them."
It would have been a great story if Kaosi Ezeagu and his Canadian teammates struggled to adjust in their first season playing high school basketball in America.
There would probably need to be some adversity, a speech from their coach and at least two different training montages. Maybe something about how the baskets are just 10 feet here, too.
Here's the problem: Ezeagu and Hamilton Heights (Tennessee) went 31-7 and won the USA National Prep Tournament.
Even worse, he ran pick and rolls with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now the starting point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and shared the court with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and a member of the New Orleans Pelicans.
"Everyone thinks we're soft up in Canada," Ezeagu said. "It's kind of like a chip on our shoulder. Everyone always thinks we're extremely different and we can't hang with the Americans."
Shai Alexander threads the needle to find Kaosi Ezeagu. #MCHoopFest pic.twitter.com/xaXk6qmVga
— Mike Stunson (@Mike_Stunson) December 3, 2016
Proving those people wrong is what brought Ezeagu to Hamilton Heights as a high school basketball player, UTEP as a college freshman and finally, K-State over the winter.
He received an NCAA waiver to play this season and will add experience to a seven-man recruiting class that should give the Wildcats a new look ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.
What Ezeagu brings to the basketball court is a 7-1 wingspan, a soft touch in the post and a resume unlike most redshirt sophomores you might find around the Big 12.
"I've learned that you have to keep polishing your skills," Ezeagu said. "You can't just have a mish mash of different abilities and things, you have to come in to your freshman season with a skill that you can rely on."
With UTEP, Ezeagu came off the bench before starting the final seven games of his freshman season. It was a change from his high school career back in Ontario, where Ezeagu was the only player in the league to average a double-double during his senior season.
Ezeagu said his freshman season in El Paso was about learning to prepare for each opponent on the schedule.
"OK, so if I'm going into this game, maybe I need to rely on my hook shot, or in this game, it's my shot-blocking ability, now it's my rebounding or my passing," Ezeagu said. "You just need to have something tangible that you can rely on every game and then you can build from there."
Ezeagu led UTEP in blocked shots throughout his freshman season, but things really began to click in conference play. Elevated to the starting five, Ezeagu scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in UTEP's final home game of the season against Middle Tennessee.
As the Miners prepared for the 2019-20 season, it was clear that minutes in the frontcourt would be at a premium and UTEP decided to redshirt Ezeagu.
A few months later, he decided to continue his college basketball career elsewhere.
"When I made the decision, I was kind of nervous at first, because not a lot of schools have scholarships in the winter. Like, what's going to come about from this decision?" Ezeagu said. "Kansas State came around late December or early January, that's when I got the phone call."
Even before he arrived in Manhattan, Ezeagu said he knew K-State's reputation for playing defensive-minded basketball. After Bruce Weber traveled to Canada for a hometown visit, Ezeagu had an idea of what he might be able to accomplish with the Wildcats.
"He said I would have a role on this team because I've played college ball before and I could just be a factor on the floor and show the other forwards how to respond to different coverages and read scouting reports," Ezeagu said. "Just being a role model to the younger guys, provide scoring when necessary but also guard the other big men in this league who are really good."
After the win, Kaosi Ezeagu stays behind to work more on his shooting. Continues to improve game after game @UTEP_MBB: pic.twitter.com/TRQAAmSE4v
— Adrian Broaddus (@adrian_broaddus) February 10, 2019
Of course, as a redshirt sophomore looking to step into a leadership role, it helps to have a network of some of the most talented Canadian basketball players in the world to lean on.
Ezeagu's former teammate AJ Lawson led South Carolina in scoring last season, and he will face someone he grew up playing against in Gabe Osabuohien when K-State battles West Virginia.
When he was sitting out the 2019-20 season, Ezeagu said that watching Osabuohien play against the Wildcats in Manhattan helped him stay motivated.
"I told him, 'We'll see you next year and we're gonna play you tough.' There are a few Canadians playing around the league, so we compete with each other," Ezeagu said. "If you're good at basketball and from the Ontario area, everyone knows what's going on with you."
As he prepares for the night-in and night-out demands of a Big 12 schedule, that chip on Ezeagu's shoulder is still there. And finally, the Canadian big man has three years to do something about it, playing in the best conference in college basketball.
"Most conferences, you play a couple of schools that are good like every two weeks. Last season, K-State played (No. 2 ranked) Baylor and (No. 1 ranked) Kansas back-to-back. That motivates me," Ezeagu said. "I can't wait to play those guys, see what they're made of and how I stack up against them."
Players Mentioned
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