Uchenna "U.C." Iroegbu (born 20 August 1996) is an American-Nigerian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Nairobi City Thunder of the Kenyan KBF Premier League. He played college basketball for Stony Brook. Standing at 183 cm (6 ft 0 in), he is a point guard and has represented the Nigeria national basketball team.[1]
 Iroegbu at the BAL Combine in 2020 | |
| Nairobi City Thunder | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | KBF Premier League Road to BAL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 20 August 1996 Sacramento, California |
| Nationality | American / Nigerian |
| Listed height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Listed weight | 83 kg (183 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Capital Christian (Sacramento, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2018: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2018–present |
| Career history | |
| 2018 | Stockton Kings |
| 2019 | CP La Roda |
| 2021–2022 | College Park Skyhawks |
| 2023 | SLAC |
| 2023–2024 | Al-Shamal |
| 2024–present | Nairobi City Thunder |
Early life and high school career
edit
Iroegbu was born in Sacramento, California. He played all four seasons at Capital Christian High School. In his senior year, he averaged 15 points, 4 assists and 2 steals per game, being named to the all-district and all-league teams as his team finished third in the state of California with a 28–4 record and a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship.[2][3]
College career
editIroegbu played his first two seasons for the College of Southern Idaho at the junior college level. He averaged 4.1 points per game as a freshman but got more playing time as a sophomore, as he averaged 6.6 points per game.[3]
He transferred to Stony Brook before the 2016–17 season, joining a Seawolves team that had a 26–7 record the year prior to make their first NCAA Tournament.[3] He started 10 of 32 games in his junior season and averaged 5.1 points. Iroegbu scored 18 points against Ball State as a senior, a new career high.[4] On January 3, 2018, he hit a late three to give Stony Brook a 71–70 win over Maine after the Seawolves had blown a 20-point lead.[5] Iroegbu recorded a new career-high 20 point game against UMBC on February 21, 2018.[6] He finished his senior season averaging 8.1 points per game while starting 13 of 32 games.[7]
Professional career
editFollowing a local tryout, Iroegbu started his career with the Stockton Kings in the NBA G League.[8] On 9 January 2019, Iroegbu signed with CP La Roda in the Spanish LEB Plata to replace Jabs Newby.[9] On 1 March 2020, Iroegbu signed with Rivers Hoopers in Nigeria for the 2020 BAL season.[10] However, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Iroegbu did not join the team.
Iroegbu signed with the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League before the 2021–22 season.
In April 2023, Iroegbu joined Guinean club SLAC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).[11]
In December 2023, Iroegbu made his debut with Al-Shamal of the Qatari Basketball League (QBL). He averaged 27.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the 2023–24 season.[12] He also played with Al-Shamal in the West Asia Super League (WASL), and led the team in scoring with 24 points per game.[13]
In September 2024, Iroegbu signed with the Nairobi City Thunder from the Kenyan KBF Premier League, as he will join the team for the Road to BAL tournament.[14]
Personal life
editIroegbu's two brothers, Chuks and Ikenna, both played Division I college basketball as well. Chuks Iroegbu played for Northern Illinois and Ike Iroegbu was a starting point guard for Washington State.
BAL career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | SLAC | 5 | 5 | 36.8 | .376 | .286 | .579 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 1.6 | .0 | 17.0 |
References
edit- ^ "U.C. Iroegbu". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Uchenna Iroegbu joins Rivers Hoopers ahead of Basketball Africa League". Rivers Hoopers. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "CSI's Iroegbu Signs with Stony Brook | Southern Idaho High School Sports | magicvalley.com". magicvalley.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Iroegbu, Saintel tally career highs at Ball State". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Iroegbu hits winner as Stony Brook scraps past Maine 71-70". USA TODAY. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Iroegbu scores 20, Stony Brook upends UMBC 64-57". USA TODAY. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "UC Iroegbu - Men's Basketball". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Stony Brook's Uchenna Iroegbu makes Kings' G League team". 25 October 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ^ "El JFG La Roda incorpora a un base estadounidense". La Tribuna de Albacete. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Uchenna Iroegbu joins Rivers Hoopers for BAL". 1 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ^ "Your latest news on the Nile Conference's teams". The BAL. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Uchenna Iroegbu (Al Shamal) Stats - Flashscore.com". www.flashscore.com. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ "Uche IROEGBU at the WASL - Gulf League 2024". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Olobulu, Timothy (20 September 2024). "League champions Thunder pack up squad with three foreign additions". Capital Sports. Retrieved 20 September 2024.