Nyeri emerges from strength of family
It was the second time it happened that Peoria Liberty High School basketball coach Mark Wood began to cry when Ring Nyeri called and told him the news.
For the second time in five months, the 6-foot-8 Nyeri had broken and dislocated the same knee that again would require surgery and cause him to miss all of his sophomore season.
“I cried after seeing how hard he worked,” Wood said.
Instead of sulking and feeling his career was over, Nyeri leaned on family, especially his mom, who became his rock the next year as he fought to come back. All the while, he never missed a practice, and was the first guy off the Liberty bench cheering his teammates.
His work had just begun and he was determined to earn a Division I basketball scholarship.
Two years later, Ring will be spending Thanksgiving with his family, thanking God for the national letter of intent he signed earlier this month with Missouri-Kansas City, which is coached by former New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies.
Kansas City in the past year moved from WAC to the Summit League.
“It’s a whole different vibe there,” Nyeri said. “They’re building a great program. I’m looking forward to having full access to the gym. I love getting my shots up. They have really good character there.”
After the initial broken knee and dislocation in the summer following his freshman year, Nyeri had surgery that required screws to be put in. About four months later, he had surgery again to have the screws removed. Then, shortly after that, while working out, it happened again.
“The first time, he was like, ‘OK, I’ll get back to it,’ “said A.J., Ring’s mom who works as a caretaker at an assistedliving home. “Then, he broke it again. He was like, ‘OK, this is it. I’m going to stop.’ I said, ‘No, you can’t give up.’ It happened for a reason. God had a plan.
“I encouraged him to be strong. And
he did.”
After the third surgery, when screws were put in again, he had to take much longer to make sure it healed completely.
Nyeri was always around Liberty basketball that 2021-22 season, when the Lions went 19-8, losing to Pinnacle early in the 6A state tournament.
“His leadership has been a 10 out of 10,” Wood said. “A wonderful human being.”
Nyeri finds strength through his mom, who has four younger siblings —
two brothers and two sisters. He sometimes stays at home in the morning to help out with a 1-year-old. A.J. is a single mom who came from Sudan, who finds strength through God and pours into helping other people.
“He was going to pour into his teammates (while out),” Wood said. “How tough mentally he is for his age. That injury was devastating. They didn’t know if he could play again. He was in emergency surgery.”
Nyeri returned last season to become one of the state’s top defensive centers at 6-8, blocking shots and rebounding, helping Liberty win 22 games and reach the AIA’s first 24-team Open Division state tournament. Liberty ended up losing to eventual state champion Perry, 79-60, after bouncing Millennium back into the 5A bracket with a 91-83 win in which Nyeri had 16 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
Nyeri averaged 10.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and two steals on a team filled with senior veterans.
This year, Liberty’s offense will run through him.
“Ring has really worked on his game to a point where we will run a lot of things through him,” Wood said.
Nyeri said that he finds strength every day after what he went through, never taking a day for granted.
“My mom really kept me motivated, because she’s just a really hard worker,” Nyeri said. “I decided to take that onto myself. I kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to be great. I’m going to do this and that.’ I just made it happen.
“I kept on being in the gym.”
His siblings look up to him and find him inspiring.
“They show their total support,” Nyeri said. “When I tell them I’m going to do this, they say, ‘You got it.’”