JoJo Nworie grew up playing soccer in the streets of Nigeria. But she’s come into her own in America with a basketball in her hands.
CU’s 6-foot-5 sophomore center didn’t even start hooping until she was 17, the same year she arrived in the U.S. She moved from Lagos to California as a sophomore. But plans for a girls program at the school she was supposed to attend in Pasadena fizzled, leading her to Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan.
When she got to Kansas, midway through the fall semester, she had athleticism and height but no basketball skill.
“She could barely run up and down the floor, she could barely catch a pass, she wasn’t very good at dribbling,” recalled her host dad and club coach, Drew Holmes. “JoJo and I still laugh about it. Because that fall was the first game in her life she played in a gym, with refs and a clock and people in the stands. She came to America for basketball, but really the sport was still brand new to her.”
Nworie proved to be a quick study, despite the difficulty in assimilating.
“She wasn’t really all that fond about being in Kansas,” said Terry Michael, the head coach at Sunrise Christian. “The weather was too cold, the food was not something she wanted to eat. She lost weight and she didn’t really have weight to lose. It was a rough start for her. The climate change, and the cultural change, was a problem.”
But by her junior year, Nworie settled in. And what followed was a winding road that eventually led her to Boulder this fall.
Post-high school, Nworie started at the College of Southern Idaho. She had Division I interest coming out of Sunrise Christian but needed to go the juco route because she didn’t have enough academic credits. She made the most of her time with the Golden Eagles, averaging 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds to earn NJCAA All-America honors.
That trampolined Nworie to the Big 12 when she signed with Texas Tech as the top-ranked juco player in the country. She appeared poised for a breakout at the next level but never got off the ground in Lubbock. A blood clot in her lungs sidelined her in 2022-23, then she lost her entire 2023-24 season to a left ACL injury.
Seeking a change of scenery, she transferred to CU, which had recruited her out of Southern Idaho back in 2022.
“There aren’t that many players who have the perseverance and diligence to go two whole years without playing and still do the work that it takes to get back on the court,” CU coach JR Payne said. “We’re all unbelievably proud of her comeback. Her potential is all still there — she’s just a little rusty from time off and not playing.”
Nworie made her Buffs debut Dec. 7 against Southern Utah. She scored five points in eight minutes, including banking in a three for her first Division I basket.
“She took a three, missed it, then took the next one that came to her,” veteran guard Frida Formann said. “There was no fear. Usually, a player who has been injured for that long will come in and be timid and not want to do anything too crazy. But she was like, ‘Nah, I’m going to shoot it again.’ And she also had some great plays defensively, including a block, where it’s already apparent that she’s just really long and it’s hard to finish over her.”
While Nworie works to continue to rediscover her confidence and carve out a role in Boulder at forward or center, she says her focus remains on playing for her family back home in Nigeria — especially her four younger siblings, whom she honors with her jersey number — as well as the Holmes family that she leaned on through her injuries.
“(The Holmes family) has helped me grow, and they’ve helped me in so many ways along this journey, and I’m still leaning on them even though I’m healthy now,” Nworie said. “And I wear No. 4 so my siblings can know I’m here for them, and not just myself. I carry my family around with me, so they know that their big sister is out here in America, trying to work as hard as she can to make them proud.”
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Nworie — her given first name is Emilia, but she started going by JoJo during her high school days as an homage to African big man and NBA star Joel Embiid — has come a long way from the inexperienced baller she was when she first came to America in 2017.
But according to those closest to her, she’s still nowhere near her ceiling.
The intelligence (she speaks four languages), work ethic and determination that allowed her to learn the game on the fly and come back from a pair of season-ending injuries give her a chance to make a mark in Boulder.
“She’s a kid with a big heart who wants to please others, whether it’s her family or us, or her teammates and her coaches,” Holmes said. “Her biggest fear is letting people down, and that’s where it’s been toughest on her the last couple of years. But now that she’s back on the floor, we’re going to see some greatness come out of her the next couple of years.”
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