Aniefiok adjusting to life both on and off the court

[Harry]

Freshman guard Maurice Aniefiok is a long way from home. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Aniefiok played soccer growing up before ever picking up a basketball. From that day on, though, Aniefiok knew basketball was his ticket in life. He soon realized, however, that he needed to come to America to take his skills to the next level.

“Two years after I started playing basketball, I realized basketball could really take me far,” Aniefiok said. “I told myself that if basketball was going to be something that I wanted to do, to play college basketball and then maybe play overseas or in the NBA or somewhere just anywhere basketball can take me, then I needed to come to America. I told myself if I really want to take my game to the next level, this is what I needed to do.”

Aniefiok came to America and played his senior season for Huntington Prep in West Virginia. Aniefiok averaged 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, while shooting 41 percent from behind the 3-point line. His team finished the season with a 24-3 record and finished as high as 14th in the nation by one publication. Aniefiok said that leaving his home in Nigeria and adjusting to the game in America has been tough but says that it continuously gets easier with the more experience he sees.

“It has been a little tough,” he said. “It’s reality. This is where I am now. I don’t want to be dazed by it anymore. I just want to be focused on what I have to do, what I am here for and just do it. Playing basketball in America and Mississippi is completely different from what I thought it was going to be. It is faster, the players are very athletic and, technical-wise, it is very advanced. But that’s the reason I went through so much practice to help me adjust to everything before the games started kicking in.

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