CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Ugo Onyenso brought energy, passion and confidence Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.  

And that was just for the post-game press conference.

“I’ve waited so long for this,” Onyenso told the media, after scoring a career-high 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a Virginia basketball blowout of Hampton.

As he left the room following the second double-double of his college career, he asked if it would be okay to take the night’s stat sheet with him. 

Onyenso left his native Nigeria and came to the United States in 2020 for the opportunity to play college basketball, which he did, first for two years at Kentucky and then last season at Kansas State. 

He transferred to UVA this year for a better opportunity to showcase his skills.

That’s exactly the chance new coach Ryan Odom is giving the 7-foot, shot-blocking savant, and Onyenso was effusive in his praise and gratitude for Odom and his staff after the second double-double of his college career. 

“I have the coaches’ confidence behind me. They’re encouraging me. They’re pushing me,” Onyenso said. “The patience he has with me, and also my team, me especially. I’ve been scared to shoot the ball. One thing with me is, I’m always scared to make mistakes when I play. He keeps telling me to play through mistakes.”

Odom brought Onyenso to UVA to do what Onyenso does best – block shots. He was a perfect fit to man the rim-protection post at the back of Odom’s pressure defense. 

But Odom, in his first year at UVA and with a rebuilt roster, spent the summer giving his new players the opportunity to show what they could do, not pigeonholing them based on their existing scouting reports.

Onyenso was the biggest surprise of the summer, showing the ability to handle the ball on the perimeter, pass and even shoot from the outside.

“Once we began to work with him, and we got in the gym with him, then it became apparent,” Odom said. “He’s more than just a shot blocker.”

At UVA, Onyenso said he’s found a coaching staff more willing to work with him on his offensive game – and more willing to let Onyenso play a bigger role on both ends of the floor.

“The summer was like a showcase. Show what you know how to do. I took advantage of that,” Onyenso said. “If you show what you can do, he’s going to let you rock. That’s one thing with Coach Odom.”

Through three games, Onyenso is averaging 11 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per outing.

Tuesday, playing 18 minutes off the bench, Onyenso showcased his versatility against an overmatched Hampton team that fell to 0-10 all-time at UVA.

He went 8 for 10 from the floor, including hitting 2 of his 3 attempts from beyond the 3-point line, the first 3-pointers of his college career. 

Onyenso also blocked four shots and dished out a pair of assists. It was his first double-double since going for 13 points and 16 rebounds in a narrow loss to Florida while a sophomore at Kentucky in 2024. He also blocked eight shots in that game.

“Once you see the ball go in, I think he got confidence,” Hampton coach Ivan Thomas said. “He was a monster on the boards. He had four offensive rebounds. When you see the ball go in, you get confident in every other aspect of your game. He blocked shots. He protected the paint. He had an all around game against us.”

And after it, Onyenso strode into the pressroom to answer questions, a nine-minute session during which he boldly declared “I know how to shoot the basketball,” proclaimed himself “one of the best shot-blocker in the country,” and passionately said of his new school, “I love it here. I really love it here,” before bashfully asking to keep the stat sheet as a souvenir.