Precious Achiuwa


Precious Achiuwa is a Nigerian college basketball player for the Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference. He finished his high school career with Montverde Academy in Florida and was a consensus five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American.

Early life and high school career

Achiuwa was born in Nigeria and grew up mainly playing soccer. He started focusing on basketball while in eighth grade, which is when he moved to the United States. As a high school freshman, Achiuwa played basketball for Our Saviour Lutheran School in The Bronx, New York. For his next two years, he attended Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. The school had a nationally ranked basketball program and he was teammates with several NCAA Division I recruits. In his junior season, Achiuwa averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game, leading his team to a 28–2 record. He was named to the MaxPreps Junior All-American second team.
Entering his senior year, Achiuwa transferred to Montverde Academy, a prep school in Montverde, Florida with a successful basketball program that held the No. 1 national ranking in the previous season. He led Montverde with 14 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and helped his team reach the semifinals at GEICO High School Nationals. Achiuwa earned MaxPreps All-American fifth team, USA Today All-USA third team, and USA Today All-USA Florida first team honors. On March 27, 2019, he played for the East team in the McDonald's All-American Game, leading all scorers with 22 points. On April 12, Achiuwa joined the World team at the Nike Hoop Summit.

Recruiting

On May 17, 2019, Achiuwa committed to play college basketball for Memphis under head coach Penny Hardaway. He joined his former Amateur Athletic Union teammate, Lester Quinones, and the number one player in the 2019 class, James Wiseman.

College career

In his debut for Memphis, Achiuwa had 14 points and eight rebounds as the Tigers defeated South Carolina State 97–64. Achiuwa scored a season-high 25 points in a 87–86 win over Ole Miss on November 23. As a result, he was named American Athletic Conference player of the week on November 25. He earned conference freshman of the week honors on December 23 after recording 20 points and nine rebounds in a 77–49 victory over Jackson State. At the conclusion of the regular season, Achiuwa was named AAC Player and Freshman of the Year. He averaged 15.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game as a freshman. He declared for the 2020 NBA draft after his freshman season.

Career statistics

College

Personal life

Achiuwa's older brother, God'sgift Achiuwa, played college basketball for St. John's from 2011 to 2014. His mother, Eunice, and father, Donatus, are both Pentecostal ministers. In addition to God'sgift, he has two brothers, God'swill and Promise, and two sisters, Grace and Peace.