Height: 6’11”
Weight: 210
Position: Center
High School: United Faith Christian Academy
Hometown: Benin City, Nigeria
Summary: The first thing you notice when seeing Henry Uwadiae, is that he is 6’11”. He is a very tall, very athletic, project. Big emphasis on project. Lots of players coming into D-1 programs, come in with things needing to work on, maybe getting bulk on their frame, maybe even learning some deep strategies that they hadn’t even been aware of in high school. With Henry, he didn’t play organized basketball until he came to America when he was 16. His school he played at in Nigeria just taught fundamentals, and didn’t even have a team to play games for. He came to America and played for Findlay Prep out of Henderson, Nevada, which is one of the best prep schools in the country. He had to learn dribbling, shooting, rebounding, rules, all the basics of the game.
Learning the game comes fast, and easily, but he is still starting from a very raw starting point. In his first game for Findlay Prep, he was put in on mop up duty for the last 2 minutes of the game, and when the opposing team scored a basket, he grabbed the ball and passed it to his team mate. Something a center typically does, inbounding the ball. However, he didn’t inbound it from out of bounds, he simply just grabbed the ball and passed it to his team mate. This is just a story to show you how raw he is.
Don’t be too worried though, as this was 2 years ago, and he has come a long way. He has a ton of potential, and some would say even more athletic ability and skill than his fellow Nigerian on WSU, Ehimen Orukpe. The biggest goal for Henry right now, would be to put bulk on his big frame. He is very lanky, and not much muscle. His raw athletic ability helps him rebound and shot block naturally, so with coaching, and practice, he should be a very good addition to the roster come his Junior and Senior year. My read on this situation is that Henry is a gamble, but if it pays off, he could be one of the best post players in the country, and I truly believe that. He has the natural ability to be a great player, and he has the work ethic to mold himself into just that.
