Jerome Tang has found diamonds in the rough of community college basketball in the past, and with the addition of 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard Chimobi Ikegwuruka, the Wildcat coach and his staff are excited about the Galway, Ireland native’s athleticism, defensive prowess and his offensive potential.
Ikegwuruka played two seasons at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Fall, Iowa, redshirting his first season there. He has three years of eligibility left.
He also has plenty of international experience, playing for the under-16 Ireland and the pro basketball team GBA Lions Jindrichuv Hradec in the Czech National Basketball League. He played three seasons for the GBA Lions, including one on the Senior team. Ikegwuruka is the first junior college transfer of the offseason for K-State and the third under Tang.
What the stats say
Ikegwuruka played 21 games this season for Ellsworth Community College and helped them get to the Final Four of the NJCAA Division II. He averaged 26.9 minutes per game and started in 13 of 21 games, putting up 19.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.1 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game, shooting 59.4% from the field, 50% percent from 3 (on six attempts), and 70.5% from the free-throw line.
He scored 20 more points in 13 games this season including seven straight to end the regular season and he had 10 double-doubles.
Ikegwuruka played in eight games for Ireland in the U16 FIBA Championship averaging 11.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 steals, and 1.4 assists per game in 23.1 minutes per game.
He had a career-high 25 points against the Republic of Georgia in 2019. He also played 51 games for the GBA Lions at the junior and senior levels, with his best stretch coming in 13 games. He averaged 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.8 steals in 26.4 minutes per game. When he played for the senior team, he averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game including three 20-point games and three double-doubles at 19 years old.
What the film says
There isn’t a lot of film on Ikegwuruka except a few games at Ellsworth Community College. The film shows someone who is a powerful dunker and a supreme athlete. He knows that he is more athletic than every player on the court at the junior college level and he uses it to his advantage.
He has a quick first step to get past his defender and likes to play above the rim. Ikegwuruka is at his best in transition where he can use his speed and athleticism to his advantage. He shows the ability to get to his spot on offense and has a solid left-handed jump spot. He is an excellent offensive rebounder and averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds per game at Ellsworth Community College.
On defense, Ikegwuruka uses his athleticism to his advantage and shows a good ability to stay in front of the opposing offensive player. He was active on the defensive end going after steals leading to easy transition points. He has good length to guard multiple positions on defense and can stay in front of quicker, smaller guards while also being able to hold up against bigger wings.
Ikegwuruka did a good job of protecting the rim averaging over two blocks per game and plays bigger than his 6-foot-6 frame.
Fit with K-State
Ikegwuruka’s fit with K-State might take a year or two to see come to fruition. He has good length with a 7-foot-1 wingspan to guard positions one through four. He has the size and athleticism to be an elite defender in the Big 12 if he buys into K-State’s defensive principles.
The area he needs to improve the most is on offense. He might not be able to rely on his athleticism in the Big 12 and his jump shot needs to be more consistent. He only attempted six 3s at the junior college level and didn’t need to rely on his jump shot to score.
For K-State, he will need to develop a solid jump shot to keep defenders honest and will need to get better at taking care of the ball as he only had a 0.6 assist-to-turnover ratio last year.
There are many different comparisons out there for Ikegwuruka and the one that makes sense to me is OG Anunoby. Anunoby played two years at Indiana before being drafted into the NBA and currently plays for the New York Knicks.
The comparison comes because their play style is very similar and can be a versatile defender. The other comparison that makes sense is David Hoskins his sophomore year at K-State. Hoskins was an undersized forward at 6-foot-5 who was a versatile defender who struggled to shoot 3s but was great from 2. He was one of the more underrated players in K-State history.
The most likely outcome for Ikegwuruka is he is a similar type of player to Nino Williams, an undersized forward who didn’t average more than six points per game at K-State and shot very few 3-point attempts.
Ikegwuruka is an exciting player who I believe will be a good defender at K-State and it will be interesting to see how his offensive game develops under Tang.
What Tang says
“(Ikegwuruka) is an athletic wing who is a big-time acrobatic finisher that will be exciting to watch in the open court. He is also a versatile defender who can switch and guard 1-4. He has significant international experience ... Our fan base will love getting to know Mobi, who speaks four languages fluently and has a variety of interests including fashion and photography.”
