Nwuba Reflects Upon Trip to Spain, New Faces at UCLA

UCLA's Kenneth Nwuba (photo by Jan Kim Lim)

Photo by: Jan Kim Lim

Nwuba Reflects Upon Trip to Spain, New Faces at UCLA

August 26, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Six days into the UCLA men's basketball team's trip to Spain, redshirt fifth-year senior Kenneth Nwuba chuckles as he describes some feelings of déjà vu.

He has never been to Spain, but he feels like he has been in this spot before. A new environment. A substantial time change. And a difference in languages.

Nwuba enrolled as a freshman at UCLA in the summer of 2018 after having spent high school in West Virginia and Virginia. He traveled from Lagos, Nigeria, to the United States at age 15 for high school and an introduction to life in the United States.

"It kind of reminds me of the first time that I came to the States," Nwuba says. "It's a different situation when you leave Nigeria for America, and you have to adapt to the culture, time change, everything with the people, adapting to their ways of living. It's the same type of feeling that I have now, being here in Spain."

Nwuba and the Bruins' program arrived in Madrid on Monday, Aug. 21, and have spent the week exploring Madrid and Valencia. UCLA has won a pair of exhibition basketball games against local squads – one in Madrid and one in Valencia – before the trip will continue into Barcelona on Sunday. The Bruins will conclude the basketball portion of the stay in Spain on Tuesday evening, taking on Girona CB in Girona (about a 75-minute drive away from Barcelona), before a flight to Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

But the central focus of UCLA's trip has been about team bonding and quality time spent away from the basketball court. The Bruins had an opportunity to visit the historic city of Toledo on Tuesday, Aug. 22, and spent Friday morning at Valencia's impressive aquarium, Oceanogràfic de València.

For Nwuba and many of his teammates, the language barrier has been interesting.

"It really intrigues me, wanting to learn how to speak their language," Nwuba says. "You start trying to speak a little, and they'll reply back so fast, and I am going, 'Oh my God, what is going on?' It's hard when you don't speak their language, and you don't know what they're saying. And they don't really know what we're saying."

Two of Nwuba's teammates – freshman Jan Vide and sophomore Evan Manjikian – have been helpful as de facto translators. Vide, an incoming freshman from Slovenia, spent the past four years as a student and basketball player in Madrid. And according to Nwuba, Manjikian has a solid understanding of Spanish.

"Sometimes when we are trying to talk to people here, they're looking at us like, 'I don't understand English,' " Nwuba says. "And then I'm going, 'Hey Jan!' or 'Hey Ev!' and I'll ask them to come help explain what they're saying. Let's just call over the translators on our team, and they can help us out to have a conversation."

Nwuba's first-ever trip to Europe comes as he is about to enter his sixth season in Westwood and his fifth season on the court. A true freshman in 2018-19 who played in just 17 games that season, Nwuba redshirted the 2019-20 campaign, head coach Mick Cronin's first year as UCLA's head coach.

NCAA rules have allowed collegiate student-athletes who endured a pandemic-disrupted 2020-21 season to return for a fifth year of eligibility. Nwuba, like David Singleton and Russell Stong last season, gratefully accepted that opportunity.

Over the past three seasons, Nwuba's role has considerably grown. He has played in 73 contests the last three years, as the Bruins have advanced to the Final Four in 2021 and finished in the Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023. As a redshirt senior last season, Nwuba played in 35 of the Bruins' 37 games and played a substantial role as a backup center to forward/center Adem Bona, who also hails from Nigeria.

"Kenny is like the best backup in America," Coach Cronin says. "At this point in his career, he would be starting on a lot of teams. He's now at a point where you could play him and Adem together, if you wanted to play with a bigger lineup. He's had a great summer. Two nights ago [in Valencia], he looked like the guy who has been practicing hard all summer. Whenever you have a player who is such a good guy and has been so loyal to your program, you are rooting for him. You want him to do well because he's put in so much time. He's been so loyal to us."

Nwuba scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half on Thursday night at L'Alqueria del Basket, as the Bruins defeated a Spanish club team (L'Horta Godella) by an 85-66 margin. Nwuba made six of seven shots and finished with five rebounds.

For Nwuba and his returning teammates, it's been a summer of adjustment.

UCLA has brought in eight players who were not on the team last season – seven freshmen and incoming transfer (junior) Lazar Stefanovic. Perhaps a bittersweet experience to no longer be playing alongside last year's veterans (and friends), such as Jaime Jaquez Jr., David Singleton, Tyger Campbell and Jaylen Clark, Nwuba says he is on a mission to help lead the new group of Bruins.

"Even though we have new faces, we are trying to teach everyone the culture of the UCLA Bruins," Nwuba said. "As veteran players, we have a lot to show these guys. We want to set good examples, because I know at some point, I'm going to be gone and these players will take over. They will pass along the examples and the things that we've taught to the next group of freshmen who come in. It's about showing a good example so that these guys can pass it along to the next generation."

Bruins' associate head coach Darren Savino, entering his fifth year at UCLA, has played a significant role in Nwuba's development at UCLA. Savino has worked alongside Coach Cronin for 16 previous seasons (including time at Murray State in Kentucky and at Cincinnati in Ohio).

Coach Savino has led UCLA's on-court skill instruction with the team's forwards and centers. During Nwuba's redshirt season in 2019-20, Savino worked almost daily in a one-on-one setting with Nwuba.

"I'll think back to when I was younger, around Kenny's age, and I cannot imagine being in a different country with no family around," Coach Savino says. "But then you sit down and spend time with him, and he's such a positive, happy person. It's inspiring. On the court and in practice, he's probably not the most vocal of players, but his example of showing up each day and working as hard as he can, it's just a great example for everybody else. You've got to work hard, and you have got to put in your time. And at some point, your number is going to be called. You'll have to step on the court and produce."

Nwuba's number was most definitely called in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, during his third year with UCLA (one year after the redshirt season). He played 15 minutes off the bench in the Bruins' 73-62 win over BYU in the NCAA Tournament's first round, going up against 7-foot-3 center Matt Haarms.

Ten days later, he was tasked with neutralizing Michigan's talented 7-foot-1 center Hunter Dickinson, a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a true freshman that year.

Nwuba played a then-career-high 20 minutes, finished with five rebounds, and held Dickinson in check (11 points on 5-of-10 shooting).

"For me, it was a little crazy because everybody thought that we were going to lose that game," Nwuba says. "Playing the big guy, I was locked in. And not just on all the players, but I was locked in to stop one guy – the big guy."

And how does Coach Savino reflect upon that memorable effort against Michigan?

"Not surprising, because that's who Kenny is," Coach Savino says. "He takes a lot of pride in his defense and rebounding. He had some games in that Final Four run where he played a lot. He didn't score, but he would set some great screens and he got Johnny Juzang open a lot in some key games – so just a tremendous role player."

As the calendar inches closer to September, Nwuba is well aware that his time at UCLA will come to a close. Among his goals? Helping the Bruins advance to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season.

"He is going to be a big, important part of our team," Coach Cronin says. "He already has been, and he can be even more so, this year."