Redshirt-senior center Lotanna Nwogbo is The Rotunda's Student-Athlete of the Month for December and January.
A congested, 6-foot-8, 255 pound men’s basketball red-shirt senior sat on a couch, eyes squinted upwards trying to recall the number of hours he spends on his sport per week.
“Well, with travel, film, practice, meetings, all that stuff, I just know it’s a lot,” said Lotanna Nwogbo.
“I can’t even estimate a number, it’s a heck of a lot.”
Outside of team-mandated practices and meetings, Nwogbo still spends his free time continuing to improve himself, as ongoing injuries and pain have reduced how much he can work in practice this year.
“Whenever I have free time, I try to just come and shoot some free throws because I’ve been battling a couple of injuries this year so I haven’t been able to practice as much as I wanted to,” he said.
Redshirt-senior center Lotanna Nwogbo is The Rotunda's Student-Athlete of the Month for December and January.
The amount of time Longwood’s go-to big man spends in Willett Halls shows consistently on the court. He averaged 14.1 points and 7.25 boards per game during December and January, when 16 of their 23 games took place.
Along with his success in basketball, the kinesiology major has maintained a GPA near 3.0 while balancing the time demands of a student-athlete. After reviewing both his athletic and academic performance, the Georgia native is The Rotunda’s Student-Athlete of the Month for December and January.
“Basketball is a full-time job and of course school is almost a full-time job as well, so it’s hard to balance, honestly,” said Nwogbo.
Nwogbo is on the team because he loves basketball. He recognizes his own role on the team as both a statistical leader and captain.
Acknowledging his ability to contribute to the team every game, in spite of injuries, he said, “I just try to do the best I can to help the team give themselves the best chances to win. I’ve just accepted my role and tried my best to stay consistent.”
After being forced to miss his junior season after breaking his thumb and recovering from a foot surgery over the summer, Nwogbo performs despite the pain. While his thumb injury was less difficult to return from physically, he admitted it was “a little mentally hard.” More of his pain this season has resulted from his foot.
“My hand has been fine since then, but I also had foot surgery this summer that a lot of people don’t know about. That’s where I’m still battling with right now. But it’s getting to the point where I don’t really feel the effects of it,” said Nwogbo.
A lot of ibuprofen?
“Yeah, a lot of Ibuprofen.”
As a team captain, Nwogbo approaches the role from less of a competition standpoint, focusing more on the connection between team and coach.
“As a fifth-year senior, people, I’m not going to say they look up to me, but they come to me for advice and I’m like a bridge between the coaching staff and the players,” he said.
In his kinesiology classes, he learns about topics that apply to his life as a student-athlete, though that’s not necessarily why he chose it.
“I’ve gotten some more knowledge about how to take care of myself,” said Nwogbo. “I just like knowing about how the body works and how to exercise properly and the benefits of exercise.”
The Big South Preseason All-Conference Second Team pick in his last year of eligibility has visions of continuing his sport after post-graduation.
“I want to continue basketball as long as I can,” he said.
Even with that thought in his head, Nwogbo doesn’t have any solidified plans in regards to playing after college.
“I’m not trying to look too far into the future, honestly,” he said. “I’m just trying to focus on finishing out my senior season.”
Redshirt-senior center Lotanna Nwogbo is The Rotunda's Student-Athlete of the Month for December and January.
"Basketball is a full-time job and of course school is almost a full-time job as well, so it's hard to balance, honestly."
