Louisville sophomore Chinanu Onuaku has the opportunity to win a gold medal this afternoon. His USA team will play Croatia for the FIBA U19 World Championship today at 1:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Through 6 games in this tournament, all wins, here are Onuaku’s per game stats:
Minutes: 14.0
Points: 4.3
Rebounds: 4.5
Blocks: 1.3
Steals: 1.5
Assists: 0.5
FG: 62% (10-16)
FT: 60% (6-10)
Onuaku is also 0-1 from the three point line, and I have no idea how/why that happened. But these stats are pretty solid if you think about it only being over a span of 14 minutes per game. He has seemed to be moving a lot better and been pretty active in these games, and that could be big for UofL this season.
I said this when he was just trying out for the team, and I still believe it. Had he not made the team, he still would have been playing basketball because it’s not like you get a summer break under Pitino. However, having this experience of actual games and playing with the top young talent in the world, plus the experience of possibly winning a gold medal, can’t be overstated. This could be great for the growth of Onuaku and that really could take the 2015-16 Louisville team to another level.
The other major question, and probably the most important in all of this: is 60% from the foul line good enough to continue the granny shot? I sure hope so.
