Richard Njoku discusses his commitment to the US Naval Academy
Richard Njoku, 6’7″, C/PF, 2018. St. Johns Cadets HS. Washington, DC.
Committed to the US Naval Academy. Annapolis, MD. Grassroots Team: DC Premier
We have watched Richard develop during his career at St. Johns as a student & basketball player where he has played varsity since his freshmen year & it has been a pleasure . He fits the mold and exemplifies the SJC Cadet & WCAC student/ athlete profile of an outstanding young man on & off the court. When we stopped by SJC in recently to watch the players play pickup, Richard played with tremendous energy, toughness & intelligence with elite conditioning. He looked like a warrior who won his battles on the court. OLast week Richard committed to the US Naval Academy to play basketball & continue his education. We firmly believe Richard will be a great success in his studies & basketball career at Navy. It is the perfect for Richard & his family & The USNA. We are very proud of Richard for his outstanding character & commitment to Navy.
We visited SJC on Friday to congratulate Richard & discuss his commitment to Navy, & he said,” I first visited Navy in January on an unofficial & I was a little scared of attending a Military Academy because of the the requirements before after I graduate. This July I went to the USNA with my parents & we were treated as a high priority. During my visit I was 100% positive I would commit to Navy. My parents love the the Naval Academy & their approval sealed my commitment. I learned so many great opportunities and learning experiences I would receive at Navy. Since the 8th grade I realized I wanted to major in pre med in college & become an Orthopedic Surgeon. My parents & uncle are in the medical field & I want to follow in their footsteps. I can major in Pre Med at the USNA with the potential of going to Medical School at Navy. If I choose to attend a Medical School at another school, Navy will provide full tuition & room & board. Navy has lessened the restrictions of their student athletes with lights out at 12am & rise & shine around 8am. We will have a strict daily & evening schedule consisting of 5 periods. The basketball team at Navy is on the rise and we play in the Patriot League.” which includes : American U, Army, Boston U, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, & Loyola of MD. Richard will join 6’9″ & current incoming freshmen Jack Lawrence who Prepped last season at NAPS. Jack was awarde honorable mention All WCAC in 2016 at Gonzaga College HS. At Navy will play PF & Center.
This season Richard will be an All WCAC & All Met Candidate. He will be a huge key for the SJC Cadets in their quest for a WCAC Title, Washington, DC State Championship & Alhambra ACIT Tournament Title which Richard & SJC have set as team goals. When Richard was a freshmen at St. Johns he was 6’3″ and he has grown his current 6’7″ with a possibility of adding a few more inches. As a sophomore he started a majority of his games & last season became a full time starter. Richard has always played with a high motor & as a excellent rim protector & rebounder. He is a very good facilitator & plays with a very high IQ. Richard provides SJC with all the intangibles & he is one highest energy bigs in the DC/DMV. He has great reactions to the ball & is a tremendous rebounder on both sides. His 1st & 2nd jumps are elite with quickness & explosion which Richard utilizes to convert ferocious dunks. Richard understands his role & mission assigned to him by Head Coach Patrick Behan. His duty will be to provide rim protection, rebounding & scoring 8 feet & in. He makes excellent outlet passes to guards Tre Wood & Casey Morsell to start the Cadets high octane transition game. In addition to providing probably every intangible in the book, Richard will be a very important leader for the Cadets. We have no doubts will excel on & off the court at St. Johns this season. We wrote in the St. Johns Team overview in the link below that SJC will be a top tier team in the WCAC consisting of DeMatha, Gonzaga, Paul VI & SJC. After studying the rosters & teams in greater detail we (I) move SJC up & into a top tier 3 team WCAC ranking.
Richard has a very closes knit family which includes 3 younger sisters. Richard names his parents as his role models in addition to: current SJC Head Coach Patrick Behan & his Head Coach of 3 years at SJC, Sean McAloon now HC at the IMG Academy. Coach Behan was an Assistant Coach with Coach McAloon & both Coaches remain very close. Richard says the transition from Coach McAloon to Coach Behan was immediate. In his downtime Richard spends a lot of quality time with his family. After basketball practice he works on his ball handling & perimeter shooting to prepare himself for his basketball career at Navy. A long term goal for Richard will be to attack the rim & shoot off the dribble. We will be providing in depth coverage for SJC this season with live game reports & player articles. This will be great season for HS Basketball in the WCAC & in MD/DC & Northern VA. SJC will begin their season in the 4 team Baltimore DC Challenge at UMBC on December 2, vs Baltimore power Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Prep Hoops will have all 3 of our MD/DC basketball writers/ analysts at the tournament & will provide many articles. Stay tuned.