I’d like to thank 6’2″ junior guard Ernest Ugoagu of the Bushnell University Beacons in Eugene, Oregon in the CCC in NAIA DII coached by Eddie Alexander for sharing his basketball journey with me. He is a fantastic player who holds career averages of 16 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 45.6% from the field, 37.1% from deep and 72.5% from the free throw line per game. He has scored 1,025 points, grabbed 275 rebounds, dished out 101 assists, had 42 steals, blocked 21 shots and made 142 threes. In each of his seasons with the Beacons, he has averaged at least 13.3 points per game, scored at least 172 points, grabbed at least 55 rebounds, dished out at least 19 assists and made at least 23 threes. His game high in points is 33, his game high in rebounds is 11, his game high in assists is 6, his game high in steals is 6 and his game high in threes is 8.

In sharing his basketball journey with me, Ernest wrote, “I went to University of Oregon out of high school with intentions to walk on the men’s basketball team. I was fortunate enough to make the team after the 2 day tryout and joined the practice team. however, due to family difficulties, I had to return home to Los Angeles because the funds for my schooling was no longer there. My best option to get myself back on track was to get back into school and actually be a valued piece on a basketball team. I had a few options, but NCU was the most fitting. the NCU basketball heritage is my favorite thing at NCU.”