Arinze Onuaku

Arinze Christopher Onuaku (born July 13, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Syracuse University.

Arinze Onuaku
Onuaku with Maccabi
Personal information
Born (1987-07-13) July 13, 1987
Lanham, Maryland, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeSyracuse (2005–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
Playing career2011–2019
PositionCenter
Career history
2011Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2011Neptūnas Klaipėda
2012–2013Canton Charge
2013New Orleans Pelicans
2013–2014Canton Charge
2014Cleveland Cavaliers
2014→Canton Charge
2014Canton Charge
2014Chongqing Flying Dragons
2014–2015Canton Charge
2015Minnesota Timberwolves
2015–2016Maccabi Tel Aviv
2016Meralco Bolts
2016–2017Orlando Magic
2017Hunan
2017–2018Zhejiang Golden Bulls
2018Meralco Bolts
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Onuaku attended DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland before transferring in 2003, following his sophomore year, to Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia.[1] As a senior in 2004–05, he earned the Episcopal High School William Caskie Watts MVP Award after helping his squad to a 12-11 record.[2]

College career

In his freshman season at Syracuse, Onuaku was named to the Big East Conference All-Academic Team and earned SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll recognition in each of his first two semesters. In 29 games, he averaged 2.0 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.[2][3]

In October 2006, Onuaku underwent surgery on his left knee and subsequently redshirted the 2006–07 season. He was, however, named to the Big East Conference All-Academic Team and earned SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll recognition for the second straight year following the fall and spring semesters.[2][3]

In his redshirted sophomore season, Onuaku ranked second in the Big East Conference and ninth in the nation in field-goal percentage with 62.8%. He was named to the Big East Conference All-Academic Team for the third straight year, and was on the SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall semester. In 35 games, he averaged 12.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.[2][3]

In his junior season, Onuaku was again named to the SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall semester. In 38 games, he averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.[2][3]

In his senior season, Onuaku became the 52nd player in Syracuse history to score 1,000 points with four against Florida on December 10, 2009.[4] For the fourth straight year, he was named to the SU Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the fall semester. He also earned 2009 Pre-season All-Big East Honorable Mention honors. In March 2010, he suffered a season-ending leg injury during the Big East Tournament quarter-finals against Georgetown. In 32 games (31 starts), he averaged 10.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 22.8 minutes per game.[2][3]

Onuaku finished his career first on the Syracuse all-time list with a .648 field goal percentage (540-for-833), and 11th all-time with 148 blocked shots.[2]

Professional career

2010–11 season

Onuaku went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft. On March 2, 2011, he was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[5]

2011–12 season

On September 14, 2011, Onuaku signed with Klaipėdos Neptūnas of Lithuania for the 2011–12 season.[6] In December 2011, he parted ways with Neptūnas following a knee injury.

2012–13 season

On November 2, 2012, Onuaku was selected by the Reno Bighorns in the fourth round of the 2012 NBA Development League draft.[7] Three days later, he was traded to the Canton Charge.[8] On February 4, 2013, he was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[9]

2013–14 season

In July 2013, Onuaku joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2013 NBA Summer League[10] and on August 22, 2013, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.[11] However, they waived him on November 12.[12] On November 27, he was re-acquired by the Canton Charge.[13] On February 13, 2014, he was named to the Futures All-Star team for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game, as a replacement for Dewayne Dedmon.[14]

On February 22, 2014, Onuaku signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[15] He was assigned back down to the Charge the same day.[16] The next day, he was recalled by the Cavaliers.[17] On March 4, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Cavaliers.[18] On March 8, he was reassigned to the Charge. He was recalled the same day after playing in the Charge's 118-110 win over the Idaho Stampede.[19] He also received assignments to the Charge on March 9 and March 11.[20] On March 12, he was waived by the Cavaliers.[21] The next day, he was re-acquired by the Charge.

In May 2014, Onuaku joined the Chongqing Flying Dragons for the 2014 NBL season. He left the team in late June after averaging 28.6 points and 14.8 rebounds in 19 games.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Onuaku joined the Indiana Pacers for the Orlando Summer League[22] and the New Orleans Pelicans for the Las Vegas Summer League. On September 5, he signed with the Pacers,[23] only to be waived by the team on October 25.[24] On November 22, he was reacquired by the Canton Charge.[25] On February 4, 2015, he was named to his third Futures All-Star team, this time for the 2015 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[26]

On April 7, 2015, Onuaku signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rest of the season to help the team deal with numerous injuries. Minnesota had to use an NBA hardship exemption in order to sign him as he made their roster stand at 16, one over the allowed limited of 15.[27] He made his debut for the Timberwolves later that day, recording 6 points and 5 rebounds in a loss to the Sacramento Kings.[28]

2015–16 season
Onuaku during his stint with the Meralco Bolts.

In July 2015, Onuaku joined the Indiana Pacers for the Orlando Summer League and the Brooklyn Nets for the Las Vegas Summer League. On October 6, 2015, he signed a three-month contract with Israeli powerhouse team Maccabi Tel Aviv.[29][30] On January 22, 2016, Onuaku was released by Maccabi, after he declined a one-month contract extension offered by the team.[31]

On February 6, 2016, Onuaku signed with the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association as the team's import for the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[32][33] He went on to win the PBA Best Import of the Conference Award.

2016–17 season

In July 2016, Onuaku joined the Orlando Magic white team for the 2016 Orlando Summer League.[34] On September 8, 2016, he signed with the Magic.[35] On January 6, 2017, he was waived by the Magic after appearing in eight games.[36]

On June 8, 2017, Onuaku signed with Hunan of China for the 2017 NBL season.[37]

2017–18 season

Onuaku signed with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association for the remainder of the 2017-18 season on February 5, 2018, after the team waived Jarnell Stokes.[38]

In March 2018, Onuaku signed again with the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association as their import for the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup.[39]

The Basketball Tournament

Arinze Onuaku played for Boeheim's Army in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. In 4 games, he averaged 9.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and .5 blocks per game. Boeheim's Army reached the Northeast Regional Championship before falling to the Golden Eagles.

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 New Orleans 3 08.3.250.000.5002.31.0.0.01.0
2013–14 Cleveland 202.5.000.000.000.5.0.0.0.0
2014–15 Minnesota 6111.3.857.000.3753.5.7.2.54.5
2016–17 Orlando 803.5.500.000.000.8.3.0.1.5
Career 1916.6.652.000.4001.8.5.1.21.8

Personal life

Onuaku is the son of Christopher and Anastasia Onuaku,[2] and has three siblings: Ify, Chinanu and Michael.[40] Chinanu is also a professional basketball player.

References
  1. Ramsey, Ethan (April 16, 2005). "MBB: Arinze Onuaku: The next big thing". DailyOrange.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  2. "Arinze Onuaku - 2009-10 Men's Basketball". Cuse.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  3. "Arinze Onuaku Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  4. Waters, Mike (December 16, 2009). "Sweat Equity: Arinze Onuaku's path to 1,000 points". Syracuse.com. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  5. "Vipers Acquire Former Syracuse Star". NBA.com. March 2, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. "Neptunas lands Arinze Onuaku". Sportando.com. September 14, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  7. "Bighorns Select Eight Players in NBA D-League Draft". OurSportsCentral.com. November 2, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  8. "Charge Make Roster Moves". OurSportsCentral.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  9. "2013 NBA Development League All-Star Game Rosters Announced". NBA.com. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. "Suns Announce 2013 NBA Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  11. "PELICANS SIGN LANCE THOMAS AND ARINZE ONUAKU". NBA.com. August 22, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  12. "PELICANS SIGN AMUNDSON AND CHILDRESS". NBA.com. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  13. "Charge Acquire Onuaku as Returning Player". NBA.com. November 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. "Replacements Announced For 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game Presented by Kumho Tire". NBA.com. February 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. "Cavs Sign Arinze Onuaku to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  16. "Cavs Assign Onuaku to Charge". NBA.com. February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  17. "Cavs Recall Onuaku from Charge". NBA.com. February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  18. "Cavs Sign Arinze Onuaku to Second 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  19. "Pair of Cavs Assignments Lead Charge to Win". OurSportsCentral.com. March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  20. "All-Time NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  21. "Cavs Sign Shane Edwards to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  22. "Rookie/Free Agent Camp Update". NBA.com. July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  23. "Pacers Sign Four Free Agents". NBA.com. September 5, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  24. "Pacers Waive Four Players". NBA.com. October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  25. "Arinze Onuaku Returns to Canton Charge". NBA.com. November 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  26. "Thirteen NBA Veterans Headline Rosters for NBA Development League All-Star Game Presented by Kumho Tire". NBA.com. February 15, 2015. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  27. "Wolves Sign Forward Arinze Onuaku". NBA.com. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  28. Wagaman, Michael (April 8, 2015). "Kings hold off Timberwolves behind Casspi". NBA.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  29. "Maccabi adds size with Onuaku". Euroleague.net. October 6, 2015. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  30. "מכבי תל אביב: הסנטר הניגרי ארינזה אונואקו חתם רשמית". Walla.co.il (in Hebrew). October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  31. "מקל יערוך בכורה מול נס ציונה. אונוואקו שוחרר". Sport5.co.il (in Hebrew). January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  32. Sacamos, Karlo (February 6, 2016). "Arinze Onuaku replaces injured Malcolm Thomas in last-minute import change for Bolts". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  33. Joble, Rey (February 10, 2016). "Meralco's import replacement Arinze Onuaku arrives in time for Commissioner's Cup opener". InterAksyon.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  34. Carlson, Chris (July 8, 2016). "Arinze Onuaku finishes NBA Summer League averaging almost a double-double". Syracuse.com. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  35. "Orlando Magic Sign Six Players". NBA.com. September 8, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  36. "Magic Waive Arinze Onuaku; Recall C.J. Wilcox". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  37. "Arinze Onuaku to play with Hunan in China". Sportando.com. June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  38. CBA side Zhejiang parts ways with former NBA player Stokes, accusing him of "being unprofessional.XINHUANET.com.[2018-02-03].
  39. "White, Macklin, Onuaku to return for PBA Commissioner's Cup". 5 March 2018.
  40. "Celebrating Ndi-Igbo: Arinze Onuaku". IgboPeople.blogspot.com.au. March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
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