MONEY PLAYER
Hall’s Nzei puts off Wall Street career to make 4th NCAA run
And then there was one — unlike any other one.
When Seton Hall takes the floor Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla., Michael Nzei will see the court for a school-record 135th time, becoming just the third player in Pirates history to play in four straight NCAA Tournaments (Arturas Karnisovas, Bryan Caver). When the fifth-year senior first put on a Seton Hall jersey — part of the program-changing 2014 class that included Isaiah Whitehead, Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado and Ismael Sanogo — the school hadn’t been to the tournament in a decade.
“Before you were here with everyone you came in with and now I’m looking at all these young guys, and it’s so much fun to see how happy they are,” Nzei said. “I’m very lucky because a lot of people play college basketball without going to the Dance one time.”
A former St. John’s star is responsible for Nzei’s incredible ride in South Orange.
Growing up in Nigeria, Nzei was friends with former Red Storm center Chris Obekpa, who often spoke of playing basketball in the United States, telling Nzei he could, too. Then, when Obekpa landed at Our Savior New American School on Long Island, he told the program about a young kid back in his home country.
“He’s a guy who dreams about a lot of stuff, and he would ask if I ever pictured playing in America, about having jerseys, about having your name called. I’m like, ‘We’re in Nigeria. You’re crazy. What are you talking about? How is that gonna happen?’’ Nzei recalled. “He was like, ‘If you don’t think about all that stuff it’s not gonna happen.’ Me seeing things happen to him, I had to listen to everything he was telling me.”
Nzei was 17 when he moved in with a host family in Centereach — shortly after his father passed away in 2012 — and quickly decided wearing two jackets would be part of his wardrobe.
“It was really cold,” Nzei said. “I couldn’t believe it coming out of the airport.”
At least Nzei knew how to speak English. At least he thought he did.
“I was learning how to speak English in Nigeria ... but when I came here, I’d talk to somebody and they’d be like, ‘What did you say?’ ... Sometimes I’d have to spell it out for them,” Nzei said. “If I wrote a paper, the teacher would bring back my paper and it would be all red lines.”
Now, he is an MBA candidate, a four-time All-Academic Big East honoree, and the Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Through the recommendation of former Seton Hall walk-on Kevin Grier, Nzei spent last summer as a full-time intern at the financial service firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
“We’ll be looking for Mike on a Saturday night, and he’ll be in the library. After a big game, he goes right back to studying,” junior Myles Powell said. “The person he is, the ball could stop bouncing right now and he’d be 100 percent fine off the court. You see how hard he works, and think about it, he’s a hell of a person.”
When the rest of Nzei’s legendary class left after last season, the big man graduated from a key role off the bench. Now, the 6-foot-8 forward is averaging a career-high 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 28.7 minutes.
“I think what Mike brings more than anything is a level of maturity,” coach Kevin Willard said. “He understands what he wants out of life, but he also understands his responsibility to teach the young guys. To have Mike this year has been a blessing because I really thought I was gonna lose him to Wall Street.”
Not until he leaves the floor for the final time.
“When I come to that point, I’ll know,” Nzei said when asked about his future plans. “Basketball opened the way for me, but good things have to come to an end for better things to happen.”