Four-star center Ejike Obinna has been a priority target for Clemson for over a year now. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell traveled to Virginia to offer the 6-foot-9, 235-pounder from Nigeria a scholarship in August 2015, and the coaching staff has stayed in regular contact since.
Last weekend, Obinna and his host family from Ashburn, Va., came to Clemson for an official visit. It was Clemson’s last, big opportunity to make a strong impression on Obinna.
According to Obinna’s host father, Ray Matthews, Clemson did just that.
“Really an outstanding visit,” Matthews said during a recent interview with The Clemson Insider. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better. They really emphasized Ejike’s priority to the program.”
Accompanied by Matthews, his wife and 12-year-old son, Obinna flew into Greenville on Friday evening. From there, they were picked up and brought to Clemson for a dinner at Rick Erwin’s with coaches, their families and a few players.
On Saturday, following breakfast at one of the cafeterias on campus, Obinna went to a class with Clemson center and London native Legend Robertin. During that time, Matthews and his family met with an academic advisor at Clemson.
After regrouping for lunch, Obinna met with Clemson strength and conditioning coach Mike Bewley. Then, Obinna headed to the new Littlejohn Coliseum to watch the Tigers practice. He was able to participate in a five-on-five competition with some of the players, as well as tour the new facility.
“That was special,” Matthews said of seeing the new Littlejohn. “It was nice to walk into the new facility, especially doing that the first time they’ve had a practice there.”
Later that evening, Obinna and his host family ate dinner at Brownell’s house and met all of the players, coaches and their family members. After dinner, Obinna had the opportunity to go out with a few of the players and get to know them better.
The visit concluded on Sunday with a breakfast and presentation from Brownell recapping the visit.
Obinna entered the visit already having a close relationship with Brownell and assistant coach Mike Winiecki, but the visit solidified that even more.
“I know that they’ve talked with Ejike regularly, and so there is definitely a relationship,” Matthews said. “Not just with Ejike, but also with the family.”
Obinna is physically ready to play basketball at the collegiate level. He can play with his back to the basket, and has a nice hook shot as well as good inside moves to help free up shots near the hoop.
Obinna is also very mature for a 16-year-old high school senior, Matthews said. As a person who comes from difficult life circumstances in his native home, Obinna has an appreciative outlook on life that shows up in his work ethic, both on and off the court.
“He very much sees God’s hand in his life as a blessing to be able to come over to the U.S. to study and play basketball,” Matthews said. “He is very appreciative of every opportunity that he has, and he wants to make the most of that for his family and as part of his faith. He is a hard worker. He studies hard, and he takes his academics seriously.”
Obinna was 13 years of age when he came to the United States.
When Matthews and his family were asked to consider hosting Obinna, they didn’t know much about him and initially committed to host him for only one year.
However, Obinna felt an immediate connection with Matthews and his family, and vice versa. So, things changed quickly.
“Within days of his coming, we told the athletic director (at Virginia Academy) that he can stay here as long as he wants,” Matthews said.
Matthews, the father of four sons, considers Obinna his fifth.
“He has his Nigerian family that he stays in contact with and that we’re in contact with,” Matthew said, “but we definitely don’t see him as an outsider. We see him as a member of the family.”
Next up for Obinna is more official visits. The plan is to take officials to Florida on Sept. 2, Oklahoma on Sept. 16 and Vanderbilt on Sept. 23. Virginia Tech is also in the mix, but Obinna has already visited the school numerous times.
Obinna will decide upon a school sometime after the visits. Obinna is looking for the right fit in terms of team culture, coaches and academics.
“We just want to help him make a solid decision that he’s happy with,” Matthews said. “That’s what is really important to him, too, is making a good decision. Getting a meaningful degree is important to him, so he’s not somebody that is looking down the road.
“He’s going to want to go through the process of doing the official visits to the schools, and then make a decision after that.”
Obinna is rated by 247 Sports as the No. 3 player in Virginia, the nation’s No. 7 center and the nation’s No. 105 player overall.