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April 22, 2010

Thought Pitt was done recruiting this class? Thought Pitt was one over on scholarship limits already? Well, they are. They have, though, the room for a walk-on that has earned a full academic scholarship to Pitt.

Dreams of becoming a doctor overshadowed thoughts of playing college basketball, even though the 6-foot-7, 195-pound [Aron] Nwankwo possessed a Division I-caliber game. Last weekend, however, Nwankwo found out that he wouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

In November, Nwankwo earned a full academic scholarship to Pittsburgh, where he’ll pursue his pre-med studies. Then last weekend, he received an unexpected bonus from the Panthers basketball coaches, who offered him a walk-on spot on the team.

“Other colleges were recruiting me [for basketball], but I didn’t really like them too much,” Nwankwo said. “Academics came first, so once I got a scholarship and knew I’d be going there, I decided to try to contact the basketball office. I knew they probably didn’t have a scholarship, so I was checking to see if there was any chance of walking on to the team. If there was a chance of that, then it would make [me going there] 100 percent.”

He met with Coach Dixon after being in Pittsburgh for the AAU Jam Fest this past weekend. Coach Dixon laid it out for him and offered him the open walk-on spot.

“Basically, it’s my dream in athletics,” Nwankwo said. “To make it to the tournament would be a crazy experience. I’ve got the best of both worlds at Pitt. It’s one of the top pre-med programs in the country and one of the top basketball programs. It doesn’t get much better than that. It’s kind of a dream come true.”

Welcome, Mr. Nwankwo. It almost gives me hope that there is still a place for the student part of college sports.





That’s awesome. Glad we have him.

Comment by pittjd 04.22.10 @ 6:01 pm

What a fantastic opportunity for Pitt Basketball and the young man! Welcome to Pitt Aron!

Comment by Rich CAS 1970 04.22.10 @ 7:52 pm

how freakin’ refreshing is this??

Comment by wbb 04.22.10 @ 7:56 pm

Glad to have him and I wish him well in both endeavors. However, IMO, he better be an absolute genius with a photographic memory if he is pursuing pre-med and playing hoops simultaneously. The time demands on basketball players–practice, games, travel make it nearly impossible to major in a scientific or technical field and succeed. It is the equivalent of going to school full time while working a full time job. Even really smart people will have a hard time managing it.

Comment by pitt1972 04.22.10 @ 9:02 pm

Good news. Even if he just comes in to provide competition at practices it’s always good to have a positive person. I wish him success and maybe he surprises us.

Comment by Panthoor 04.22.10 @ 10:47 pm

“Coach [Jamie] Dixon said he would like me for their open [walk-on] spot on the team. I’d be a 4 man. They were real nice to me, telling me all the ways they can help me out with the academic [support] and everything.”

The above is a direct quote from the Baltimore Sun story. For him to be in this situation shows that he is smart, has perspective, and above all, has good organization, time management skills. I see this as a plus for everyone involved, and should he become overwhelmed, he’ll make the proper decision. But for now, my guess is that he’ll pull if off.

Comment by wbb 04.23.10 @ 8:07 am

Team G.P.A. just went up!

Comment by Z-boy 04.23.10 @ 9:59 am

We’ve had some interesting walk-ons in recent history that really develop quite the following from the Zoo… Marcus Bowman (my fellow South Carolinian!) and Charles Small come to mind from my time at Pitt.

Hope Nwankwo goes on to great things too.

Comment by Greg in New Orleans 04.23.10 @ 11:11 am

Good for him!

Comment by Omar 04.23.10 @ 11:23 am

You mean that he passed on Kentucky??

Comment by tph60 04.23.10 @ 12:00 pm

[…] new favorite walk-on, Aron Nwankwo, has a Q&A about coming to Pitt. Q: How did the opportunity come to walk on the […]


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