South Alabama Recruit Back On The Board

Cooley · August 10, 2007

Nweke was a sleeper that I thought would have been a nice pickup (big man) with our last 07 ship. He signed with USA late. Don't know what happened but he's back on the board.

http://texashoops.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=676442

May 23, 2007

TexasHoops.com Recruiting Staff

He may not have signed during the official spring signing period. But that fact alone will not prevent Kem Nweke from getting a Division I scholarship. The huge 6-foot-10, 295-pound post from Fort Bend Marshall High School was able to sign grant-in-aid papers to get his schooling paid for, and after checking out a campus over the weekend, will be studying and playing mid-major basketball in the Sun Belt Conference.

"I'm going to South Alabama," Nweke said. "They've been recruiting me for a long time and I'm really close with Coach (Ronnie) Arrow. I didn't know too much about the school, so it was really the coach - I've known him since he was at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He's really good at developing big men, and there's the opportunity for me to start too."

Nweke made his decision after visiting South Alabama this past weekend. "There's a great campus life there, and there's a lot of people - I didn't know that there were that many in Mobile," Nweke said. "They've got some great players coming back and they finished first in their league last year."

Nweke noted how he'll have the opportunity to come in and be an impact player, but he knows there's work to be done this off-season if he is to earn that chance. "It's going to be losing weight mostly," Nweke said. "But I also want to work on my ball-handling and my mid-range game too."

Texas Hoops Analysis: KEM is a beast in the lane who can put his backside on his man and get wherever he wants to in the paint. He has a very wide backside, really knows how to use his body to seal the defense and call for the ball and works his way close to the bucket for easy buckets. He has good hands and feet for a player his size, can finish well around the goal and will kick it back out to shooters from the low post. He will need to drop some weight and get in better basketball shape to reach his potential.

NT03 · August 10, 2007

What a BIG MAN ?? :huh:

Could be heading to USF....

Censored by Laurie · August 10, 2007

Kem is a monsterous man...I've seen him listed as big as 315. It would be nice to have him here.

The bigger story here may be what is happening to USA. Kem was a Ronnie Arrow recruit...so the mass exodus of players from Mobile isn't entirly tied to Pelphry.

Cooley · August 11, 2007

August 10, 2007

New Destination for Nweke

TexasHoops.com Recruiting Staff

Talk about it in the Message Boards

In May, Kem Nweke thought he had his college future all mapped out. The huge 6-foot-10, 280-pound post from Fort Bend Marshall High School had inked to play in the Sun Belt Conference and got busy getting in shape to get ready. But as his career as a Jaguar was about to start, things changed with his situation. It didn't take long for Nweke to find a new home though and now he's heading West from the Lone Star State for school instead of East.

"I'm going to New Mexico now," Nweke said. "I really didn't like the situation at South Alabama, so my parents and I decided to find something else that was better for me. So we called up some people."

"I happen to know one of the coaches (Chris Walker) at New Mexico and I really trust him," he continued. "They happened to be looking for a big man, so it all happened from there."

Since Nweke had signed a scholarship agreement with South Alabama outside of the spring signing dates, he was not bound to the Jaguars and was able to pursue a new opportunity. He felt most comfortable with signing with New Mexico because of his relationship with Walker, but it wasn't as if he didn't know what the Lobos were all about.

"I've been there before, not on an official visit or anything, but I've been there," Nweke said. "I went to a football game and I really liked it there. There were a lot of people and they were really crazy about the team."

He feels good about the situation from the basketball perspective as well. "It's an up-and-coming program and one which I think will be a good fit for me," Nweke said. "We'll get it done. I've also lost about 40 pounds now - I'm down to 280 - so I'll be ready for this season."

Texas Hoops Analysis: KEM is a beast in the lane who can put his backside on his man and get wherever he wants to in the paint. He has a very wide backside, really knows how to use his body to seal the defense and call for the ball and works his way close to the bucket for easy buckets. He has good hands and feet for a player his size, can finish well around the goal and will kick it back out to shooters from the low post. He will need to drop some weight and get in better basketball shape to reach his potential.