Louisville basketball: Greatness for Jordan Nwora in 2019 will start in China

For the second straight summer, Louisville basketball star Jordan Nwora will play for the Nigerian National Basketball team. Can he have similar success to last year?

Last summer, the international basketball community became familar with a college basketball player without much name recognition. To Louisville basketball fans, the name Jordan Nwora was one that brought hope and promise to the new-look program under Chris Mack, but to the professional basketball players, that name belonged to a guy who had to earn his keep.

Playing for the Nigerian National Team under his father, Alex Nwora, Jordan Nwora set the international world on fire.

At just 19 years old, Nwora broke the record for the most points scored in a Nigerian national game, scoring 36 against Mali, while averaging an incredible 21 points per game during FIBA World Cup qualifying rounds.

Due to his play, along with the help of several former NBA veterans and international stars, Nwora led the Nigerian team to the promised land, helping them qualify for this summer’s FIBA World Cup in China, which will give them the chance to compete in next summers Olympic games for the third straight time (2012 & 2016).

After a breakout season for Louisville, leading the team in scoring and rebounding on his way to claiming the ACC’s Most Improved Player of the Year and rising up draft boards only to return to Louisville after injury, this summer comes with high expectations for Nwora.

Nwora will no longer be the college kid hoping to make a name for himself. Instead, he’ll shoulder high expectations as he joins forces with former and current NBA veterans who are hungry to win at the highest level.

Last summer the Nigerian team had plenty of vets, but not many of the high-level NBA names that Jordan Nwora will play aside this year. In the first two exhibition games against Canada, Nwora played alongside 2018 NBA first-round pick and current Timberwolves guard, Josh Okogie, nine-year veteran, and Orlando Magic forward Al-Farouq Aminu, and San Antonio Spurs forward Chimezie Metu.

That’s not it. The Nigerian team also includes former NBA players Ben Uzoh, Alade Aminu, and Ike Diogu, all of whom are in the midst of extremely successful careers overseas.

This experience for Nwora, a guy who is widely regarded as the favorite for ACC Player of the Year in 2019 as well as a potential First Team All-American, and the best player on a Final Four caliber team, is invaluable. Returning for what will likely be his last year as a Cardinal in 2019-2020, Jordan Nwora will not only be asked to be the best player on the team but do so by improving in multiple areas – specifically defensively and with shot selection.

He’ll also go from a guy learning how to play for Chris Mack to a guy asked to lead others. Playing alongside and against some of the world’s top players, while being asked to produce at a high level in order to get Nigeria back to the Olympics, will be huge in terms of managing expectations and thriving as a player. In order to stay on the floor, there will no doubt have to be an improvement defensively, something Chris Mack has said Nwora has been working to improve since returning to the Ville.

If he’s able to do that, Nwora could be looking at a year that includes qualifying for the Olympics, winning the ACC POY, being named an All-American, making a run at a Final Four and National Championship, and hearing his name called in the 2020 NBA Draft.