Westmont College’s Olisa Nwachie has been named to the All-Golden State Athletic Conference men’s basketball team. Nwachie, a 3rd-Team NAIA All-American last season, made the All-GSAC team for the second year in a row.
Nwachie, a senior captain from Gardena, is leading the Warriors in scoring at 17.4 points per game and has scored 452 points on the season. The senior is averaging 18.8 points in conference play – good for fifth-best in conference.
Westmont head coach John Moore said, “Olisa is a returning All-American. He has played better in the GSAC than he even played earlier this season. He’s really stepped up in all the right ways.”
Nwachie is shooting .657 from the field in conference play, which is the highest in the GSAC. He has shot .637 from the floor on the season – good for sixth-best in the country. He’s grabbing 5.5 boards per game. He ranks second in the conference with 32 blocks (1.8 per game) and he’s shooting 74.8% from the free-throw line (104-139).
Moore noted, “He is one of the leading guys in the nation in field-goal percentage. He’s become a very good free-throw shooter. Early in his career he was a 58 percent free-throw shooter, and when you improve to a 75-percent free-throw shooter, you’re going to get a lot more points for your team.
“He’s an exciting scorer. It feels like he gets at least a couple dunks a game. That tells you a little bit about his athletic ability,” commented Moore.
Nwachie has spent four years at Westmont after transferring from St. John’s. Moore recalled, “I think he has grown a great deal (in his time here). When he first got here, he thought that NAIA basketball was a step down. Now he knows how high a level it is. He appreciates the high level. His growth has been more than just with his basketball play. He’s matured a lot as a person as well. He’s come a long way and I’m very proud of Olisa.
Nwachie currently sits 27th on Westmont’s all-time scoring list with 1,231 points scored and will look to improve upon that in postseason play. Nwachie and the Warriors are heading to William Jessup for the GSAC Tournament this Thursday and will face #23 Arizona Christian in the first round at 7:30 p.m.