William Njoku - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

William Njoku (born March 5, 1972 in Accra, Ghana) is a Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n-Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

player and member of the Canada national men's basketball team.

A 6'9½" forward, Njoku immigrated to Canada as a four year-old along with his parents Lawrence and Catherine. He starred for Halifax West High School

Halifax West High School

Halifax West High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Clayton Park neighbourhood in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia...

despite missing most of his senior year through injury. The Warriors consequently did not reach the provincial championship finals tournament in 1990. Njoku attended his hometown Saint Mary's University, where in his junior year (1993) he was winner of the Mike Mosher Award as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is The Canadian Colleges Athletic Association...

's (CIAU) Most Outstanding player. In his junior and senior seasons he was also named a CIAU All-Canadian. Njoku was drafted in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft

1994 NBA Draft

The 1994 NBA Draft took place on June 29, 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is notable for the fact that two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season...

with the 41st pick overall by the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

.

Failing to make any NBA regular season roster however, Njoku played professionally for the next ten years for various clubs in Europe. He retired in 1999 due to a chronic back ailment, one which was properly diagnosed and successfully treated allowing him to make a comeback to pro ball at age 31 in 2003. This is a mostly complete list of the clubs by year:

Jersey Turnpikes, USBL, 1995
Atlantic City Seagulls
Atlantic City Seagulls
Atlantic City Seagulls may refer to:* Atlantic City Seagulls , a member of the Eastern Amateur Hockey League between 1933 and 1953* Atlantic City Seagulls, a member of the United States Basketball League...

, USBL, 1996
Alba Berlin
ALBA Berlin
-Depth Chart:* Denotes injured player.-Championships:*German Championships: 8 *German Cups: 6 *Korać Cups: 1 -Notable players:- Season by season :-External links:...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, autumn of 1996
Besiktas
Besiktas
Beşiktaş is a municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and on the east by the Bosphorus...

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, 1997
Illianbum Taka, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, 1998
Oliveirense, Portugal, 1999
QMI Bashkimi, Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

(Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

), 2003
Eurolines Vilvoorde, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, 2003-4
F. Rabotnicki, Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, 2004

Njoku also played in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Njoku was a member of the Canadian team at the 1994 FIBA World Championship

1994 FIBA World Championship

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Canada from August 4 to August 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome and Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto as well as at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton...

as well as the 1998 Championship

1998 FIBA World Championship

The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...

. In 2007 he also played for the Canadian national developmental team in a tournament in Argentina.

Since retiring from playing pro basketball, Njoku has been involved in coaching and motivational speaking. Having lived in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

for the off-seasons during much of his playing career, he now resides in Moncton, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. He was the Athletics Director at Crandall University from Sept 2007 - Sept 2010, when he left to focus on his motivational speaking company, Will2Win.

Sources

External links

Njoku's personal website

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