Former JCA star takes the reins
Former JCA star Ekhomu takes reins at Florida State
Nicki Ekhomu is standing out as a junior for the Florida State women’s basketball team.
Nicki Ekhomu is doing some impressive stepping out as a junior for the Florida State women’s basketball team.
The former Joliet Catholic star was the runaway MVP for the Seminoles in a Dec. 5 game against Mercer.
Ekhomu, a 5-foot-9 guard, had an offensive eruption that was twice her norm. It led to the interesting observations I received from Florida State coach Sue Semrau.
“Nicki is very content to let other people have the spotlight, which I think makes her a really special basketball player,” Semrau said. “She doesn’t want it to be all about her.
“Before our game with Mercer, I saw she was looking around. We have a very young team and it was our first true road game.”
Ekhomu had the second-best scoring night of her career, pouring in 27 points as the Seminoles won in a thriller, 57-56.
“I asked her about it after the game,” Semrau said. “She told me, ‘I thought the freshmen looked scared to death. I remember that feeling and I wanted to take some of the pressure off of them.’
“That’s a really cool thing about her I think is really unique. To have that kind of humility and that kind of ability is a rare combination.”
What I found the most interesting about that conversation is Ekhomu said there was a time she felt “scared” on a basketball court.
We never saw any of that when she played at Joliet Catholic.
As a sophomore in 2013-14, Ekhomu was already known as an elite guard. She was the
second-leading scorer for the Angels, who advanced to the Class 3A state finals and finished second.
Current Hillcrest coach Ed Schodrof was the coach at Joliet Catholic when Ekhomu was a sophomore. He left after that season to coach at Governors State, but the impact she made remains indelible in his memory.
“She was a program changer,” Schodrof said. “When she came, a lot of other people wanted to come too. She had the ability to make everybody around her better immediately.
“She was so gifted. Even in grade school, it was evident what she could become.”
As a senior, Ekhomu was named the Daily Southtown Girls Basketball Player of the Year. They are memories she’ll never forget.
“It was so much fun my sophomore year, especially since I played with my sister (Christina),” Ekhomu said. “We had a lot going on my senior year with people leaving and everything. But being able to count on and work with the girls who were there, that was a lot of fun too.”
Three years into her career at Florida State, the fun has taken on another dimension.
Ekhomu went through the usual Chutes and Ladders experience where you’re at the top as a senior in high school and slide back down to the bottom when you enter college.
As a freshman, she averaged 3.4 points and played 13 minutes per game for a senior-dominated team that made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
“I was so glad to learn from the seniors on that team,” Ekhomu said. “It was a blessing. It helped me learn what it takes.”
As a sophomore, Ekhomu was one of the Seminoles’ most effective players off the bench, averaging 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. This season, she leads the Seminoles (9-1) with 41 assists and 17 steals and is second in scoring at 13.1 points.
“She has grown every year by leaps and bounds,” Semrau said. “This year Nicki is a really critical player for us. She is a leader.”
Can you just imagine what’s ahead?