[Sly Fox]

Here's a kid from the same corner of Suburban Houston as Jesse Sanders ...


Kenny Onyechi
6'6" Power Forward
Sugar Land (TX) Kempner HS

Rivals Profile

Scout Profile -

[Sly Fox]

This kid originally verballed to Rice but is still in play (sound familiar?). Here is what my buddy Jim Hicks had to say about Kenny a couple of weeks ago in naming him to the All-Camp squad at John Lucas' event:

KENNY ONYECHI 6’6 pf (Kempner HS 2009)
Camp Team: Suns
Summer Team: Southwest Celtics

Why Kenny? Because the brute strong power forward was the talk of the gym on Saturday after posting 41pts in the Suns’ pair of wins. This kid was on a mission to prove something to somebody, and that mission was accomplished. On Sunday, he tallied 17pts and 19pts to finish as the camp’s scoring leader (19.2ppg).

Click Here for Full Story

[Sly Fox]

By: Jim Hicks (RCS Sports)

On Tuesday afternoon, Garlon Green ignited a bang, bang, bang day of decision making involving three Houston area prospects. By the end of the day, the state of Virginia embraced a pair of locals who selected schools on the East Coast. Defending TAPPS state champion Woodlands Christian HS star Joe Carr pledged to VMI while Kempner HS star Kenny Onyechi abandoned his previous pledge to Rice in favor of a new verbal to Liberty.

Click Here for Full Story

[LUconn]

I think I'm slowly starting to put this together.

[Sly Fox]

The Hoot Hoot should've been a dead giveaway if you have been paying attention.

I know I get ragged about overhyping Texans, but this is big time get for us. He's now listed at 6' 7" and he plays bigger than his frame.

I'm hoping to catch both Kenny & John Caleb in action in fall tourneys down here in the next week or so.

[LUconn]

I hope Rice had a talented class put together.

[Sly Fox]

Willis Wilson was a Christian coach who was attractive to players like the Sanders brothers and Kenny. If he were still coaching the Owls we might not have landed any of these guys.

[olldflame]

But he's only 210 pounds!!!!

[LUconn]

I'm just happy to see somebody who probably has a post move or 2 in his game.

[Sly Fox]

I am waiting for formerplayer to weigh in on all of his Fort Bend County guys coming to the mountain. You can just imagine how much I am loving all of these Houstonians.

Incidentally the kid who committed to VMI from right by my house is a pretty good scorer as well. He is teammates with Derek Johnson who we were chasing awhile back.

[olldflame]

I'm with you Sly in hoping formerplayer and some of the other ballers will follow SCAR's lead and check in more often here. Having such a strong Houston connection might just do the trick.

[SuperJon]

But he's only 210 pounds!!!!

He's also in high school and hasn't been introduced to cafeteria food and a weight program.

[olldflame]

I was taking a shot at TBGBG and some of the other guys who are always screaming for "beef". All I care about is if he can play. I'm sure he will add some muscle, as will our current bigs. Carter definately is an ectomorph though. Don't know if he will ever be much of a banger.

[SumItUp]

Carter definately is an ectomorph though.

I had to look that one up. From the American Heritage Dictionary:

ectomorph
ec·to·morph (ěk'tə-môrf') Pronunciation Key
n. An individual having a lean, slightly muscular body build in which tissues derived from the embryonic ectoderm predominate. [/u]

ectoderm
ec·to·derm (ěk'tə-dûrm') Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The outermost of the three primary germ layers of an embryo, from which the epidermis, nervous tissue, and, in vertebrates, sense organs develop.
2. The outer layer of a diploblastic animal, such as a jellyfish.

[olldflame]

3 main body types:

Ectomorph = Carter McMasters/Sammy Chelanga

Mesomorph = Rashad Jennings

Endomorph = Asa Chapman

[Sly Fox]

The original plan for Kenny Onyechi was to stay right at home. But when the coaching staff at Rice changed, the tough 6-foot-6, 210-pound power forward from Fort Bend Kempner High School started to have second thoughts. He kept the Owls on the backburner while keeping the door slightly ajar, and that's when a Big South Conference school came into the picture and lured him out-of-state.

Click Here for Full Story - $$$


More on Kenny from RCS Sports ...

Check out the Home Page article regarding three area seniors who selected schools on yesterday afternoon. Garlon Green (TCU), Joe Carr (VMI), and Kenny Onyechi (Liberty) who could be the best steal of the three players. This past July at the SWIC directed by John Lucas, Onyechi absolutely dominated in the post, despite going against taller more heralded power forwards. Heck, he posted 26pts in two of the three camp games. Just in case you didn't know, it's very rare to score 20pts in an elite camp game, nevertheless over 25.

Click Here for RCS Sports

Scout has a story up on his commitment but it is subscriber only material.

[jcmanson]

Sly, how do you pronounce his last name?

[Sly Fox]

I never guess at Nigerian names because I am generally wrong. I hope to catch him at a game in the next week or so to find out for sure.

[Hold My Own]

I'm just happy to see somebody who probably has a post move or 2 in his game.

I heard somewhere we need a big man...

[olldflame]

Having spent some time in that part of the world, I'll take a stab and say Own-yay-chee with Own-yeh-chee as second option.

[Sly Fox]

My guesses would be similar. There are several hundred-thousand Nigerians in Greater Houston (have I mentioned Houston's oil business before?) and their names came up nearly nightly in my high school and college coverage down here. And I have been wrong more than right in my pronunciations.

[olldflame]

Sly, I think you'll agree. One of the beauties of Espanol......................... vowels are always pronounced the same way.

[Sly Fox]

No argument from me.

The original path for Kenny Onyechi was to attend Rice Univeristy. But when the coaching staff at Rice changed, the physical 6'6", 210-pound power forward from Fort Bend Kempner High School in Sugarland, Texas backed out of his pre-summer verbal commitment to the Owls and started investigating new college options. Compared by sources close to the situation as an "Alex Tyler" type of player, Cornell made a late push to get involved in Onyechi's recruitment. A family friend of Ugo Ihekweazu (Cornell '07) back in Texas, the connection helped the Big Red's late entry into the recruiting race. Unfortunately, Onyechi was focussed primarily on Liberty University and Weber State, ultimately committing to Liberty yesterday. "I've committed to Liberty," Onyechi told TexasHoops.com. "I visited and liked the school, the players, and the coach [Richie McKay]. They all are really tight and I feel like I'll fit in. I feel I like I can go there and do something there." Onyechi made his official visit to Liberty the last weekend in August.

Click Here for Full Report