When basketball season starts in November, the West Catholic Athletic League will boast some of the more highly regarded programs in Archbishop Mitty, Serra, and St. Ignatius. Conversely, Archbishop Riordan has not had a winning season since 2007-2008 and was not as dominant in the WCAL since 2006-2007 when they featured Rob Jones who went on to star for St. Mary's College. The Crusaders finished 10-16 (5-20 forfeited due to an ineligible player) in 2011-2012 but may have hit rock bottom.
Next season's team will feature the No. 36 ranked player in the NorCalPreps.com 2014 boys basketball rankings, Jiday Ugbaja, whose name in his native dialect of Nigerian means "Savior." The combination guard was in and out of the starting lineup in his first year on varsity during this past season but should be a prime contributor next season at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds.
Ugbaja was on the vaunted Oakland Soldiers 15U club last summer. "Jiday is incredibly quick and explosive off the dribble," says Soldiers Coach Nick Enzweiler. "He has a great ability to get to the basket. He is a great ball handler and can go by defenders at will."
This Crusader has the size and explosiveness to be compared to former Memphis Tiger Tyreke Evans because of his ability to get to the basket and can impose his will on smaller guards. Ugbaja is best described as a power player who can slash. He utilizes a quick spin move to create open space for himself.
Enzweiler, who prepped at Campolindo High and spent time at UTEP and Cal Poly collegiately, has this critique. "I would like to see Jiday improve his outside jump shot and his decision making on the court but keep in mind that he was one of the youngest players on the Soldiers 15U team last year. So, he has a lot of time to grow and develop. In my opinion, Jiday is a versatile guard because he can play both point and shooting guard."
Ugbaja will play for the Norcal Panthers for the upcoming July evaluation periods. The rising junior wants to play for a program where the coaches coach and the team plays with an up-tempo but disciplined manner.
"Jiday has a lot of potential because he is a terrific athlete and has a lot of skills that make him a good guard," says Enzweiler. "At least for me, I think it may be too early to project his status at the next level but if he continues to improve and work hard-which I believe he will-he will be a solid D1 prospect."
Players who physically train to get better are no surprise. Players who work on the courts to get better are no surprise. But players who are mentally challenging themselves, that is not always a given.
"One of the things I like most about Jiday is that he wants to be a great player," says Enzweiler. "When I coached him last year on the Soldiers 15U team, he was always asking me questions about how he can improve his game, what things he should be doing to gain an advantage on the opposition. As a coach, you have a tendency to gravitate toward the players with the best attitudes and Jiday is the type of player and kid you gravitate towards."
Archbishop Riordan had a fairly underwhelming season this past year. But things are looking up for the Crusaders. Watch for Ugbaja to be the "Savior" for Riordan off of Ocean Avenue in the City.
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