A Closer Look – Paschal Chukwu

Throughout the 2012-13 season, Friarbasketball.com will take a closer look at a number of key Friar targets. Our staff will continue to provide in-person reports the top Friar targets all season, and provide updates on prospects who have been previously featured. 

Prospect: Paschal Chukwu

Position: Center

School: Fairfield Prep (Connecticut)

AAU Program: CBC – Donnelly

Class: 2014

Overview:

It is very rare that a 7’1 player with athletic ability gets overlooked by the national scouting services, but that is the case with 2014 center Paschal Chukwu from Fairfield Prep. Rest assured, however, that he is not being overlooked by the Providence College coaching staff.

This Spring:

Following the NERR ratings closely last year one of the players that really intrigued me was Paschal Chukwu. Adam Finkelstein of NERR had him ranked around sixth in New England for the class of 2014 even though the national recruiting services such as ESPN, Rivals, and Scout generally ignored him.

How overlooked was he? During one interview early this summer Paschal said that he did not yet have one single college offer.

The first time I saw Paschal in person was at the Providence Jamfest this past April. The first thing I noticed about him was that at 7’1 he is a good athlete. He gets up and down the court quickly and can get off the floor. There were times during his games where he was a huge defensive presence in the paint.

Offensively, Paschal is quite raw and has quite a ways to go. He is very new to the game and it shows, but the potential is definitely there. He did have a couple of nice moves and put-backs during the tournament, but certainly the offensive game has a ways to go.

Progress During the Summer: 

Playing for CBC – Donnelly, Paschal had a couple of very nice tournaments in Orlando and at both ends of the floor. At Orlando, Alex Schwartz from Northstar Basketball thought so much of Chukwu’s performance that he ranked him 46^th in his Post Summer 2014 Top 100.

In August I had a chance to see Paschal once again at the Providence College Elite Camp. He participated on Coach Cooley’s team in the scrimmages and Cooley was paying a lot of attention to him throughout the day. Chukwu continued to impress, particularly on the defensive end. The Basketball Diary was there and  filmed a scrimmage game between Team Cooley (with Chukwu at center) and Team Lafleur.

 

What Others Are Saying:

ESPN: In another example of how underrated Paschal is ESPN lists him, but has nothing in his player profile

NERR: Commenting on his Hoop Group performance this summer NERR said “Paschal continued to bring his game to new levels with each passing weekend this month.  He was a dominant defensive presence while showing a variety of offensive tools and potential.”

RIVALS: “Almost no one has heard of 7’2 center Paschal Chukwu, a 2014 prospect. That’s going to change soon.”

Rivals also had this to say after the Super Showcase in Orlando:

“The surprise of the day on Friday was the play of 7-foot Connecticut center Paschal Chukwu, a long and hardworking shotblocker with great potential. The Connecticut Basketball Club prospect was phenomenal in a game against the Queen City Prophets as he turned away shot after shot, and was able to run the floor well enough to consistently beat his defender downcourt for scoring opportunities. Chukwu is still a raw prospect, but has plenty of time to develop as he is just a 2014 prospect who is playing against older competition from the 2013 class.

College coaches from Kansas, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh viewed Chukwu on Friday, while many coaches in the crowd produced rumblings of some Connecticut interest for the Nigerian native. Recruiting big men is usually about potential over production, as young players with that much size often need more years of schooling to develop their skillsets to the point that they can be excellent college players. Chukwu is the classic case of that, but at 7-foot and with a college-ready skill in his shotblocking prowess, he is well worth the time investment.”

Scout: “Chukwu first emerged at the New England Elite 75 Showcase, and has steadily improved since then. He is a legit 7-feet tall, can run the floor, blocks shots, and has a nice touch in the mid-range. Chukwu is still a little bit raw and is developing his feel for the game, but the tools are there for him to be very good.”

The Competition:

Chukwu has not really been concentrating on recruiting that much and does not really have a formal list. Besides PC,  Xavier has shown a lot of interest in him as well as Connecticut. He probably won’t get serious about recruiting until this Spring.

Bottom Line: 

The keyword for Paschal Chukwu is upside. Athletic big men are very hard to find. Paschal may take a while to develop but he will be worth the wait. People have to remember that he has only been playing organized basketball for a couple of years. Ed Cooley got in early with him and is building a relationship which is so important. Hopefully this will pay dividends in a couple of years for the Friars.

Mixtape Time:

There is not a lot of video out there on Paschal. Here are some highlights and an interview courtesy of Cox Sports and NERR.

 

Email Craig at craig.leighton@friarbasketball.com

You must be logged in to post a comment Login