Villanova Film Room: Reviewing 7-Foot Commit Nico Onyekwere

Villanova Men’s Basketball picked up a surprise commitment for their 2025 recruiting class on Monday, April 28, 7-foot-1, 240 pound center Nico Onyekwere out of Long Island Lutheran High School.

A relatively unknown quantity, Onyekwere initially signed with Florida State in November 2024, but earned a release from the Seminoles following longtime head coach Leonard Hamilton’s retirement. Onyekwere hails from Abuja, Nigeria, and also spent time playing in Europe before coming to the United States. 

Florida State was the only program to offer the three-star recruit during his initial recruiting cycle, and while he reportedly made an official visit to Villanova last week, news of his recruiting stayed largely under wraps until the commitment announcement.

What does Onyekwere bring to the table? He took something of a backseat at Long Island Lutheran during his one season there, playing for a star-studded team ranked No. 2 in New York State. The Crusaders’ offense ran through a pair of four-star guards ranked among the top 40 recruits in their class, Kiyan Anthony and Kayden Mingo. Knowing how to play as a teammate rather than a one man show will help him adjust to the college game.

Watching the Crusaders play as a team you’ll see Onyekwere (who wears No. 21) doing the little things, setting screens or throwing down the occasional dunk: Onyekwere possesses a reported 7-foot-6 wingspan. He moves and jumps well for his height, but setting up for rebounds can look awkward at times because of his high center of gravity. Another strength is his weight. He’s not as thin as many young big men are and, while he could certainly build more strength, time spent developing at Villanova will probably consist more of learning how to use his size through technique than it will bulking up.