Player: Esahi Nyiwe
Position: Pwer Forward
Height / Weight: 6-10/210
JUCO: Clarendon College
Offers: Texas Tech
Recruiting Services: Rivals N/R | 24/7 Sports N/R | ESPN N/A
Video: YouTube
Cumulative Ranking: N/R
Commitment Date: April 11, 2020

Texas Tech received their 5th commitment of the 2020 class and things are now officially interesting in terms of the roster. A little bit of a surprise, but as someone that doesn’t follow recruiting all that much, I think I saw where Nyiwe was mentioned as a guy that was offered, but I didn’t do much more than watch the YouTube video.

So what do we get in Nyiwe? Well, he”s a guy that’s averaged 8.1 points a game, shot 67% from the floor, made 33% of his three-point shots, averaged 8 rebounds, and a shade over 2 blocks a game. At Clarendon, Nyiwe was seen a couple of times by Luke Adams, who is the head coach at New Mexico J.C., where Clarendon notched two wins against Luke’s team. So he got to see Nyiwe up close and personal. I should also mention that Luke’s New Mexico team went 23-9 this year, so he didn’t lose a ton of games. In the first game, Nyiwe scored 10 on 5 of 7 from the floor, had 13 rebounds, 5 offensive, an assist, 2 steals, a block, and 3 turnovers. In the second game, one that knocked out of New Mexico from the playoffs, Nyiwe scored 10 points again, also on 5 of 7, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a turnover.

That video though is apparently from Iowa Western where he played his first year and goodness gracious, Nyiwe is a high-end athlete, jumps out of the gym and I can’t figure out why no one else offered him. If Nyiwe works out, he will be one of those guys where other teams are trying to figure out where he came from and we’ll just laugh.

Avalanche-Journal’s Carlos Silva, Jr. talked to Nyiwe’s head coach at Clarendon:

“Coach Chris Beard trusted his eyes and the people from West Texas who were giving him good word of mouth about Zaye,” Clarendon College men’s basketball coach Isaac Fontenot-Amedee said. “And coach (Mark) Adams was crucial, too, since he saw Zaye a few times when we played against his son, Luke, and New Mexico Junior College.

“Both coach Beard and coach Adams were just so prepared and laid out the plan for Zaye. It’s like they’d been at our practices and showed Zaye how he could be used like Tariq Owens was a few years ago.”

RedRaiderSports’ Ben Golan talked to his AAU coach (maybe?) about what Nyiwe adds to the team:

“Oh yeah, the thing I like about Zaye is at his core is he’s a defensive-first player. It’s rare that guys focus in on that side of the floor but he’s one of those guys that plays every second of every possession. So somebody might get beat and he’s on time with his rotations, he covers up ground if somebody gets caught looking, he’s really locked in on the defensive side and it’s something he takes pride in.

Then offensively just as far as his athleticism goes, he’s special. He’s just super, super fast. He’ll probably be the fastest player on the team, you’ll have to see it in person but his speed is unreal for somebody that size. A 6-foot-10 kid that can run as fast as he can and he’s got quick feet so he’s fast, he’s quick, he’s got a great vertical, explosive, strong core so those things help him on the offensive end because he’s got a natural handle and natural touch.”

I mentioned the scholarship issues and well, just to remind you there are only 13 scholarships per year. Right now, I’ve removed the scholarship to Avery Benson. I know he was on scholarship last year, but I don’t know how things will play out. But even with removing Benson, the roster is still one over the limit. I also am not sure if Nyiwe has 2 years to play 3 years or just 2 years to play. I’ve presumed he does not have a redshirt year.

Texas Tech Basketball Commits

Eligibility Chart

13 scholarships each year | Black Box = Scholarship Year | Red Box = Redshirt Year | HS = Playing high school | JC = Playing junior college | TR = Transfer | NBA = Declared for NBA Draft | NA = No Longer Attending | *Transfer from UNLV