Chinyere Ibekwe has had her share of basketball discussion
around the dinner table at home. Her older brother Onyekachi plays
college ball at Long Beach State, while her eldest brother Ekene
starts for national powerhouse Maryland.
Ibekwe often gets calls from her big brothers. They constantly
remind her of facets of her game that need some fine tuning and
then talk about her natural strengths on the court.
“They are always in my ear,” she said. “But
it’s nice to have them giving me advice. It’s something
that I have got from the players here as soon as the season
started.”
Despite her family lineage, Chinyere Ibekwe didn’t come
into her first year in Westwood with the notion that she would have
the spotlight shone directly on her.
Playing for a team with three potential first-round draft picks
who are known for their finesse play, she knew that she was needed
as more of a rebounder than a scorer.
So she entered the program hoping she could show steady progress
and earn playing time off the bench with her stingy defense and
bruising post presence.
“We’ve got Noelle (Quinn), Nikki (Blue) and Lisa
(Willis) for the scoring. My job is to hustle up and down the floor
and get boards,” she said. “I wanted to be a sponge and
learn and develop.”
She is progressing much faster than initially expected. Over the
past four games, she saw a boost in playing time as she solidified
her role as the top post player off the bench. During conference
play, however, she has made a bigger impact than most role
players.
Against Arizona on Friday night, as UCLA (9-6, 4-2 Pac-10)
limped into the game after consecutive losses to California and
Stanford, she came through with her best performance as a Bruin,
scoring 15 points in only 21 minutes of playing time.
She is currently averaging 10.1 minutes per game, with 4.8
points and 3.1 rebounds ““ all numbers that have consistently
grown since Christmas.
“Rey-Rey is really coming on strong for us at the perfect
time, when the tough conference games are played every week,”
coach Kathy Olivier said. “I haven’t tried to rush her
along because she has so much potential. But she has the ability to
dominate Pac-10 basketball with her physical tools.”
Ibekwe, a 6-foot-4 center out of local Carson High School, has
received veteran guidance from a number of players on the team,
most notably senior guard Willis and junior guard Quinn.
In fact, many players on the team have been quick to give Ibekwe
perspective with either words of encouragement or a strict pep talk
to incite her to play with more of an edge.
While all the attention might make another player blush or get
rattled, she knows that it is all a sign of respect.
“I know they wouldn’t push me if they didn’t
expect big things out of me,” she said. “And I expect
big things out of myself. I know that I have potential, but right
now all I’m worried about is winning.”