SPORTS EDITOR – OTONIEL GONZALEZ
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON APRIL 6, 2023
Most people say the journey is more important than the destination; others say it is equally important. One thing is true: every story must come to an end. This spring, 2023, after four years of St. Mary’s University being his home, senior Emmanuel Ewuzie is graduating. Uwuzike was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and his parents are from Nigeria. He played for St. Mary’s Basketball team in the center position and is a living example of what an excellent student-athlete should be. He likes to make music videos and has a YouTube channel. He is graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he is interested in exploring the field of aerospace engineering. Ewuzie leaves St. Mary’s after these four years after having a great time where he has created great memories, he grew as a person and had fun.
Ewuzie has played basketball since he was a kid. His mother was a huge basketball fan, especially of Kobe Bryan, so Ewuzie would watch him play a lot. Watching basketball helped him grow a love for the game. Ewuzie shares that “one of the reasons he enjoys playing is because basketball allows him to express his creativity through the game,” and this resulted in basketball becoming a passion in his life. As a result of watching him through his childhood, Kobe Bryant became his idol. What stood out most to Ewuzie was his mentality and his attention to detail. Ewuzie learned from Kobe to be obsessive for what you want. Ewuzie seeks to keep this mentality and work ethic on the court and outside in his daily life.
Ewuzie considers his biggest strength to be his physical strength, height and his athleticism. This athleticism helps him play better defense and disrupt shots. Ewuzie explains that this physical advantage over his opponents “allows him to help the team as a whole, get better positions when rebounding and get as close to the rim as possible.” As a student-athlete majoring in mechanical engineering, Ewuzie faced many challenges throughout these four years. Most of these challenges were related to the “road trips, causing you to miss classes and fall behind.” He has advice for all student-athletes: “talk to the professors because they are willing to help.” He talked to his professors 24/7. It made it easier for him to keep track of everything.
His favorite memory on the basketball team during these four years was his very first game. Ewuzie shared that “it was a new experience, and he didn’t know what to expect.” The team traveled to Colorado, where they competed against the top 14th team in the Nation. The team’s starting forward got injured, and he had the opportunity to play. For him, it was a “crazy experience, and the environment was amazing.” The team ended up winning the game in overtime. “Having that kind of atmosphere to play in your first game is great.” The part of the game Ewuzie enjoyed the most was competing. He shared that he “is a competitive person, and basketball gave him the opportunity to manifest that competitiveness.”
As previously mentioned, Ewuzie has a YouTube channel where he posts his videos. Ewuzie says the reason why he makes videos “is because he loves to move people.” Most of his videos are comedy, about him interacting with other people. Ewuzie that he loves to “help people have a great time.” Emmanuel loves “making people laugh and have a good break from life.” However, the main reason he creates these videos is to put his print on the world for people to enjoy. He hopes to become a full-time YouTuber. Ewuzie wants “to give people a sense of happiness through a video.” His basketball career is currently up in the air, and he is unsure what will happen next. Ewuzie plans to graduate school and get a degree in something related to the aerospace engineering field.
In his last season with St. Mary’s University, Ewuzie broke the record for blocks in a single season with 58 and tied the all-time record with 112 blocks. He didn’t realize he blocked that many shots in his years with St. Mary’s. Ewuzie breaking the blocks record “is a great achievement, and he is happy to leave a mark on St. Mary’s.” Ewuzie was grateful for everyone who helped him get to this point, especially the coaches. He shared that he is “proud of this achievement to say the least.”
Coach Meyer has shared four years with Emmanuel. He shared that “it was awesome to be around him knowing that every day you are going to get his best effort and see him evolve through these four years. Coach Meyer believes that Ewuzie’s greatest strength is “his belief in doing the right thing and being a good person.” The best description Coach Meyer provides is that it “is hard to be around him and not smile.” The advice he wants to give Ewuzie is to keep that humble attitude that makes him stand out. No matter where he goes, have the exact same approach.