Xavier forward Kachi Nzeh is not afraid to admit how he was feeling when he saw his name in the starting lineup in the Musketeers’ exhibition opener last month in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League.
“I was scared, I’m not gonna lie. You can ask my teammates. I was looking at them like I had seen a ghost,” said Nzeh, pronounced N-Zay.
Kachi Nzeh (51) was the only freshman starter for Xavier in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League.
Most Division I basketball players have a touch of nerves before their first collegiate game. However, most Division I college basketball players have been playing the game their entire life. Nzeh, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, has only been playing basketball for over three years.
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Nzeh was a Junior Olympic champion in the 400-meter dash before a growth spurt sent him to the hardwood. He still had a sprinter’s mentality on the court, though.
“The hardest part for me was understanding how to control my speed. I was really just running up and down the court,” Nzeh said. “I was the first one down and hopefully my teammates would pass the ball. I would just stand there.”
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On top of understanding the game’s pace, there was footwork, fundamentals, shooting form and other intangibles that needed to be learned. Luckily, he had help in the family with his older brother, Chigozie.
The two started at the basics: What is a travel? What is a carry? The different types of fouls. They played 2K and noted feedback from the video game’s announcers. When it came to putting the ball in the net, they shot on a trash can in the backyard.
Kachi Nzeh averaged a double-double per game in his final season at George School.
“He (Chigozie) really guided me in that aspect of playing basketball,” Nzeh said.
Still, Nzeh never imagined trash can basketball would lead to Division I offers. As the transition to basketball got smoother, his game improved. After initially sprinting down the court ahead of the pack, Nzeh’s lightbulb moment came as a sophomore at George School. In his first game as an underclassmen, he had 20 points and 15 rebounds.
“At that point, I was like, ‘I’m going to be good at this sport,’ ” Nzeh said. “I knew I could do something with this.”
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Nzeh would become a three-star recruit after averaging 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for George School. He held 14 offers before committing to Xavier just over a year ago after a phone call with Sean Miller stuck with him.
“I was like, you know what, he (Miller) believes in me,” Nzeh told The Enquirer last September. “He told me the plan he has for me. Cintas Center is beautiful. Xavier is beautiful … so why not? This could really be home for me.”
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The plan for Nzeh started with that first exhibition contests in Nassau, Bahamas. Nzeh may have been scared as the lone freshman starter, but he turned in 11 rebounds in 24 minutes against University of Victoria. When he started two days later in the final exhibition game, he turned in a 15-point, 10-rebounds double-double with two blocks and two assists against Bahamas Raw Talent Elite.
Xavier freshman Kachi Nzeh (15) had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Musketeers’ win over Bahamas RTE in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League.
“I played my role, didn’t try to do anything too crazy, just rebounded and play hard. Do what our coaches preach, and everything worked out,” Nzeh said.
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Miller said of Nzeh’s performance: “His improvement, whether it’s physically or just watching him each week, I feel like his improvement shines . . . I have no doubt Kachi is gonna be a terrific player. We’re thrilled with the progress he’s made this summer.”
Last year, Nzeh was the final piece of Xavier’s 2023 recruiting class to bolster the backcourt. One year later, opportunity has arrived, and he has a chance to contribute right away. Nzeh has shined with more reps after injuries to Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter, two of the four returners from last year’s Sweet 16 squad. Both Freemantle and Hunter are still sidelined, but have helped Nzeh grow into a forward set to potentially make a first-year impact.
“From a coaching standpoint, having Zach and Jerome with that senior leadership, they give me advice. As terrible as that is that they’re hurt, it’s given me the opportunity to learn more,” Nzeh said. “I really felt this summer has allowed me to grow into the type of player I’m gonna be for Xavier.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Kachi Nzeh went from trash can basketball to Xavier Musketeers
