Uchebo Breaking Records, Providing Leadership for 49ers
First year coach Mark Price struck gold with his senior transfer Joseph Uchebo.
CHARLOTTE, NC (WCCB Charlotte) — Mark Price’s first recruiting class had many questions.
The 49ers size was one of them.
But his senior transfer from Pittsburgh, Joseph Uchebo, turned out to be a bold answer to a problem the team had going into the season.
“How he has progressed over the course of the season to become as dominant as a player has really been amazing,” Price said.
Uchebo’s rebound numbers have been beyond amazing. The 6-foot, 10-inch center from Nigeria broke Kenyon Martin’s Conference USA single season rebound–Uchebo has 327 boards and counting.
He credits a childhood around the game of soccer for his attention to detail and savvy ball-awareness skills.
Uchebo says he is still growing as a basketball player. And it makes sense as the 49ers senior didn’t pick up the game of basketball, which he now calls his favorite sport, until he was 15.
“I couldn’t even dribble,” Uchebo said with a laugh when remembering his first experiences with hoops. “They would pass me then ball and I would (throw) it all over, everywhere. I was like, ‘I’m going back to play soccer.”
The 49ers big man moved to the Raleigh area in high school and was a highly-touted college recruit. After a junior college stint, Uchebo landed at Pittsburgh but decided to use his grad student transfer waiver to come to Charlotte in hopes of increased playing time.
Uchebo fell under the radar in this summer’s recruiting process due to an oft-injured knee. Price admits he thought he was getting a guy that could maybe play 15-20 minutes a game. Uchebo averages a double-double (12.9 ppg/11.3 rpg) on 28 minutes a game.
“When I step into the game I don’t think about my knees,” Uchebo said. “I’m focusing on how to win.”
Uchebo has been just as valuable from a leadership standpoint. On a team full of talented freshman guards, Uchebo is a senior who has been through the battles of ACC play and is looked up to by the rest of the team.
“As I (keep) growing up,I think I will get better,” Uchebo said about his development as a player. “Playing with coach Price and the guys that have more experience and coming in and working out, I will get better.”
Charlottte closes out the Conference USA regular season slate with two road games this week (Rice, North Texas) before heading to the Conference Tournament next week in Birmingham.
