I told my 10-year-old daughter Sofia a couple years ago that out of all the high school athletes I've covered over the last three decades, there were two she had to meet.
Nneka Ogwumike as a senior
at Cy-Fair.
File Photo by Jim Redman
That's because both, I thought, could someday be elected President of the United States.
It's getting close to election time in 2012 and though
Nneka Ogwumike isn't up for any office, today she was the No. 1 selection of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.
The ultra athletic 6-foot-2 forward from Stanford had an illustrious college career, capped off by averaging 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds. She led the Cardinal to four consecutive Final Fours.
Impressive, but not all that surprising. At least from my perspective.
I was lucky enough to speak to Ogwumike by phone after she was selected both the 2007-08
MaxPreps Girls Basketball Player of the Year and
Female Athlete of the Year. She not only led
Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) to a 39-2 record and state basketball title (she averaged 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals per game), but she also sent down 414 kills for the Bobcats' 37-3 volleyball team.
Ogwumike just sort of toyed with volleyball. But her athletic prowess was almost secondary to her person.
From the phone call alone, this then- 17-year-old was well beyond her years and by all accounts a tremendous leader in all regards. When I spoke to her it was if I was speaking to a grown woman – articulate, funny and clear.
Raised by parents Peter and Ify, natives of Nigeria, Nneka credited her family even back then for all her success. She was a 3.86 student in high school, an artist, a pianist and a practical joker.
Nneka Ogwumike was the top pick
in Monday's WNBA draft.
File Photo by Jim Redman
She raised money for the needy both abroad – the children of Darfur – and locally, like a family of a Texas high school coach who died of leukemia.
"You hate to say too much or go overboard but honestly there are not enough good things to say about Nneka," her high school basketball coach Ann Roubique said. "And the thing is, those same compliments are passed on not only by coaches and players but from her teachers in the classroom and kids on campus."
I was able to meet Nneka the summer of 2008 in Hollywood at the annual Gatorade year-end awards.
She was even more impressive in person. It was then I truly wanted my daughter her to meet her, a true role model for Sofia to aspire.
It didn't happen but two years later it sort of did. I introduced her to Nneka's sister
Chiney, the other high school athlete who might someday be our president.
Like her sister, she was our
Girls Basketball and
Athlete of the Year, running up similar numbers - 22.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 steals a game while leading the team to a state title. She piled up an even more staggering 634 kills – fifth nationally – leading Cy-Fair’s 34-10 volleyball team.
McDonald’s All-American coach Cathy Self-Morgan, from Duncanville, said of Chiney: “She’s an absolute joy. I’ve always wanted to coach her and she was even more amazing than I’ve been told. She’s just so unselfish and brings people together.”
I suspect the Ogwumike sisters are going to bring lots of people together for lots of different reasons.
Nneka Ogwumike was the 2007-08
MaxPreps National Girls Athlete
of the Year.
File Photo by Jim Redman
Today, Nneka brought women basketball fans together everywhere to discuss whether she is worthy of the top spot. She'll join arguably the league's most famous player in Candace Parker, the No. 1 pick of the 2008 draft.
Other No. 1 picks include WNBA megastars Tina Thompson (1997), Lauren Jackson (2001), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010) and Maya Moore (2011).
She’s undersized to play up front, so she plans to change her game to become a largely perimeter player.
“I want to be completely confident in my outside shot beyond the arc,” she told reporters today. "I'm not looking to do too much. I'm just trying to be me."
Chiney, above all else, is adaptable and versatile. That’s one of the reasons Sparks coach Carol Ross wanted her No. 1.
“We’re getting a great team player, who embraces the team concept,” she told reporters. “She will work hard for her teammates. She's a creator on offense. She is relentless on defense. A player like Nneka fits in anywhere.”
Perhaps even the White House.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com or follow him @MitchMashMax. Watch more videos of Cy-Fair basketball
