How Joy Ighovodja is pushing for minutes this season for Wichita State basketball
Earning minutes on the Wichita State men’s basketball team is a challenge that sophomore Joy Ighovodja has gladly accepted.
After playing sparingly as a freshman, Ighovodja was told by the coaching staff that a path to more playing time included improving his outside shot.
All players were required to make 10,000 shots this summer. Ighovodja was the first player to complete the task.
“If I was at home and not doing anything, I just thought, ‘What am I doing? I should be in the gym,’” Ighovodja said. “I want to be in the gym every single day.”
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It’s evident watching the 6-foot-4 wing from Nigeria play that he understands the importance of every opportunity he receives on the court.
When an injury to Harlond Beverly left WSU shorthanded for its final game in Charleston, South Carolina, last November, Ighovodja rose to the occasion to finish with seven points, five rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes against Saint Louis. He also collected eight points and nine rebounds in 11 minutes against Friends.
When given extended playing time again in WSU’s Sunday exhibition game, Ighovodja once again delivered in the form of six points, a team-high eight rebounds, a block and a steal against Emporia State.
“My drive is to dominate every time I get on the court,” Ighovodja said. “If coach gives me two minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, I want to give my all and play so hard that everyone can see that I take this personal and this means a lot to me and hopefully I can get more and more time.”
Since being recruited by Mills while he attended NBA Academy Africa, Ighovodja has been sold on the coach’s vision for him.
That’s why Ighovodja wasn’t dismayed when he fell out of the regular playing rotation last season after appearing in six of the first seven games. He understood it’s a process and appreciated how the coaching staff remained committed to helping him improve his game through practice, individual sessions, film study and the weight room.
He never even considered leaving WSU after his first season to look for another situation where he might play more. He trusts Mills.
“I feel like coach Mills really understands me,” Ighovodja said. “He wants you to be a better person as much as being a better player. I never wanted to leave and go bounce around from one coach to another. Coach Mills knows how to help me grow as a player and as a person, so that’s very important to me.”
While he only averaged 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13 appearances last season, Ighovodja found his way to help the team by embracing his role in practice to push the starters as hard as he can to help them improve.
He’s still learning the playbook and when and where to be on the floor, but Ighovodja’s physical gifts are astounding: a 6-foot-10 wingspan and 39-inch vertical. Pair those with a true passion for defense and Ighovodja has the tools to be a terror defensively.
“What I appreciate the most about Joy is just how hard he plays,” Beverly said. “He brings the energy every single day and he just plays really hard. He’s very consistent. You know what you’re getting with him every day and it’s really a joy playing with him.”
He is still working on limiting his fouls, but Ighovodja’s defense and effort stand out in practice sessions. But that’s not what he’s known for most with his teammates.
No one on the team relishes the day when they are matched up with Ighovodja on defense.
“Joy is an absolute beast on offensive rebounds,” WSU senior Ronnie DeGray III said. “He is a really hard person to box out. He just goes full speed and he can jump really high and he’s really strong. He makes you better, for sure, and he’s a guy who does a lot of unseen work that is really appreciated around here.”
Minutes in WSU’s backcourt will be tough to come by this season with guards like Bijan Cortes, Xavier Bell and Beverly back, plus the additions of Justin Hill and A.J. McGinnis. But Ighovodja spent countless hours in the gym this summer to try to refine his outside shot, which he says he is still building confidence in.
It remains to be seen if he will force his way onto the court this season, which begins next Monday at Western Kentucky, but if WSU ever needs energy on the floor, Ighovodja will be ready to go.
“I want to feel like every time I’m shooting, I feel like it’s going to go in, even when it doesn’t,” Ighovodja said. “I’m still working on it. That’s how the game is. You have to keep working. But I know if something happens and I’m called upon, I’m going to be ready to give my all.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 6:03 AM.
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