Through three seasons of college basketball, senior center Ugonna Onyenso attempted one three-pointer, a late shot-clock heave in 2024 on a late January night in Fayetteville, Ark. — it bounced off the front of the rim. Onyenso was a sophomore at Kentucky at the time. Not until almost two years later, after arriving at Virginia, did he take another three.
He finally made one — and then a second — Tuesday against Hampton.
“I was so happy to see the ball go in,” Onyenso said. “I’ve waited so long for this.”
All the Nigerian big needed was an opportunity. After years of waiting — and working — he seems to have found it at Virginia.
In 18 minutes of play, Onyenso scored a career-high 18 points, making eight of his 10 shots and adding 10 rebounds and four blocks to the stat sheet as well. His two first-half three-pointers, though, stole the show.
Onyenso arrived at his postgame press conference a few minutes early, poking his head around a corner as he waited for his teammate — junior guard Sam Lewis — to wrap up. The seven-footer sat down, adjusted the microphone slightly, read over the box score and, with a grin, told his story.
He was quick to give credit to Coach Ryan Odom. Odom’s patience, Onyenso said, and willingness to let him play through mistakes, has helped unlock a new dimension of his game.
“If you show what you can do, he's gonna let you rock,” Onyenso said.
Some 20 minutes earlier, Odom fielded a question as to whether or not he had seen Onyenso’s nascent shooting capabilities when he recruited him.
“Probably not,” Odom said. “But once we began to work with him, and we got in the gym with him, then it became apparent he's more than just a shot blocker.”
Odom and his staff have been deliberate in not confining players to labels and in letting talented guys add to their game. Virginia’s reset this past spring opened a lot of doors, offering Onyenso a fresh start of sorts and an opportunity to showcase something he always felt he had.
“When we all committed here, everything was just new,” Onyenso said. “And it was like, ‘Be yourself, go work for it.’”
That opportunity had been a long time coming for him.
In his two years at Kentucky and one at Kansas State, Onyenso became accustomed to playing a very specific role. Defend the rim, rebound with intensity, set screens, finish dunks. He always knew that adding a credible three-pointer would open up the floor and make him a legitimate offensive weapon, but that opportunity never came.
At Kentucky, under legendary Coach John Calipari, Onyenso felt he had the makings of a distance shot. But Kentucky’s staff and system did not ask for that.
“I didn’t have the confidence,” Onyenso said. “And the coaches were like, ‘Don’t think about it.’ I showed that I could do it a little bit, but when it was time to do it at practice, I wasn't able to do it at practice.”
Onyenso understood the coaches’ hesitancy — Kentucky had a preferred style of play and needed his efforts devoted to play-finishing and rim protection. He knows that the latter tool, in particular, is his best trait.
“I’m one of the best shot-blockers in the country,” Onyenso said. “Come on now. I’m not trying to be cocky, but I take pride in my defense and I am more confident defensively than offensively.”
But Onyenso had worked on his shot heading into his junior year and was beginning to be confident in more skills than just his shot blocking and rim running. He transferred to Kansas State expecting to be given that opportunity, hearing promises of roles and development pathways that did not come to fruition.
“At K-State it was different,” Onyenso said. “I showed that I could shoot the ball a little bit, but the coaches were like, ‘I prefer you staying down in the post.’”
The frustration never boiled over. Onyenso — who still holds the record as the youngest player to suit up for the Nigerian national team — understands the game and how it gets played, and took his role in stride, playing fewer minutes at Kansas State than in the previous year at Kentucky but still putting in effort whenever he saw the floor.
“They gave me a role,” Onyenso said. “I was like, ‘Okay, if this is what you want me to do, I'll do it.’ I didn't play much at K-State, but I understood it, it's a part of life and it's part of the process. So I didn't play as much. I took it and I kept walking.”
The opportunities at Virginia have come in droves. Onyenso remarked at the availability of his coaches and their interest in helping him get better. It is no surprise that has made the senior even more motivated to work.
“I didn't do half of the workouts that I'm doing now individually at my other schools,” Onyenso said. “It's not that I wasn't serious or I wasn't motivated … I really love it here.”
Just being able to call his coaches and ask “what time are we getting in?” goes a long way for Onyenso. That openness, he said, is what keeps him in the gym, keeps him smiling and keeps him believing the best is yet to come.
“Being able to have a group of guys like that that are ready to help you and push you like that,” Onyenso said. “[That] means a lot. You know. That means a lot.”
Onyenso will continue to play a pivotal role on a Cavaliers squad pushing for a top-25 ranking and an eventual tournament bid. For an impact sub who crashes the boards, swats everything in his sight, finishes with authority and — apparently — shoots threes, the best is truly yet to come.
All Onyenso needed was an opportunity. At Virginia, he finally has one — and he is making it count.
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