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2019-20 Men's Basketball Roster
Nwora, Jordan
Jersey Number 33
Jordan Nwora
- Position:
- Forward
- Height:
- 6-7
- Weight:
- 225
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Buffalo, N.Y.
- High School:
- Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vt.)
Bio
Junior Year
- Last name is pronounced WOR-uh (silent N).
- Honored as the Cardinals’ 21st All-America selection and first since Russ Smith was a consensus first team All-America choice in 2014. Nwora was named to All-America third teams by The Associated Press, NABC, The Sporting News, US Basketball Writers Association, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. He is just the 12th consensus first, second or third team All-America selection for the Cardinals.
- The only player to rank among the ACC’s top ten in scoring (18.0 ppg, second in the ACC), rebounding (7.7, 8th), free throw percentage (.813, 4th), field goal percentage (.440, 8th) and three-pointers made per game (2.45, 2nd) during 2019-20.
- Included on the final ballot for the John Wooden Award (top 15 players) and was a candidate for national player of the year by multiple entities. He is one of five finalists for the 2020 Julius Erving Award, presented annually by the the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top small forward in the nation.
- Named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America basketball second team. He is on schedule to earn his degree in three years at UofL.
- First team 2020 All-ACC selection, the second-leading vote-getter on the team and he was runner-up in the player of the year voting.
- Honored on the 2020 All-ACC Academic team (third straight year).
- Topped 20 points in 14 games and in 27 games his last two years.
- In ACC games during the 2019-20 season, Nwora made 41.9 percent of his three-point shots (52-of-124, second in the ACC) and 84.9 percent at the free throw line (62-of-73, 3rd in the ACC).
- His 18 points and 11 rebounds vs. Virginia on March 7 marked his seventh double-double of the season and 16th of his career.
- Scored a career-high 37 points on 11-of-20 shooting, while knocking down a career-high seven three-pointers, at Boston College on Jan. 29. He also grabbed nine rebounds. It is tied for the seventh-highest individual scoring total in UofL history and was the top single-game effort by an ACC player in 2019-20.
- Became the 69th player in UofL history to reach 1,000 career points on Jan. 4. He finished his career with 1,294 points in three seasons, tied for No. 31 at UofL.
- Honored as co-ACC Player of the Week for games Dec. 1-8 after averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in victories over No. 4 Michigan and Pitt.
- His .394 career three-point percentage (178-of-452) ranks seventh at Louisville.
- Scored in double figures in 27 games as a junior and on 67 occasions in his career.
- His 18 points and 11 rebounds at Virginia on March 7 marked his second straight double-double, his seventh of the 2019-20 season and the 16th of his career (second-most in the ACC).
- Buried a three-pointer in 28 games during the 2019-20 season and on 67 occasions in his career.
- Pulled down five or more rebounds in 27 games as a junior, ranking eighth in the ACC in rebounding (7.7) and fourth in defensive rebounding (6.0).
- Earned first-team preseason All-America honors from multiple entities, including Associated Press, The Sporting News, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Athlons, the Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook and a second team selection by Street & Smith’s Basketball Yearbook. Nwora was honored as the preseason ACC Player of the Year.
- Went through the 2019 NBA draft evaluation process while declaring for the draft but chose to return to college for his junior year.
- Honored as the 2019 ACC Most Improved Player and earned third team All-ACC honors. Also named to the the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District teams.
- Top scorer (17.0 ppg, seventh in the ACC) and rebounder (7.6, ninth in the ACC) for the Cardinals.Â
- Most improved scorer in the ACC and third in the nation, rising 11.3 points from his freshman season (17-18: 5.7 ppg, 18-19: 17.0 ppg).
- His 77 three-point goals were 10th for a UofL single season.
- One of four players in the ACC who has scored 20 or more points on at least 13 occasions this season.
- Led the team with eight double-doubles on the year, including 23 points and 12 rebounds against No. 2 Duke.
- Scored in double digits in 31 of 34 games as a sophomore, including 20 or more in 13 games.
- Honored on the 2019 All-ACC Academic team, his second straight year to receive the recognition.
- Became just the third Louisville player over the last 17 years to score 25 or more points in back-to-back games. He scored a career-high 32 points against Boston College before pouring in 25 at Georgia Tech.Â
- Totaled a career-high 32 points while pulling down 10 rebounds against Boston College. He became the first Louisville player to score 30 or more points since Wayne Blackshear had 31 points against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 23, 2014.
- Also ranked among the ACC leaders in three-point field goal percentage (.374, ninth), defensive rebounds (6.44 per game, fourth) and minutes played (31.91 per game, 22nd).
- Scored 17 points at No.12 North Carolina, making 5-of-8 three-pointers.
- Scored 24 points against Indiana, while pulling down a career-best 14 rebounds.
- Named to the 2018 NIT Season Tip-Off All-Tournament team when he averaged 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in two games in the event against Tennessee and Marquette.Â
- First UofL player in 17 years to score 20 or more in at least six of the first 12 games (since Reece Gaines in 2001-02).  Nwora scored the Cardinals’ first 11 points against Lipscomb en route to a 22-point, nine-rebound effort.
- Scored 23 points vs. Tennessee and recorded his first double-double with 10 boards.
- First underclassman with three straight 20-point scoring efforts since Donovan Mitchell on Feb. 18-26, 2017.Â
- Honored on the 2018 All-ACC Academic Team.
- One of seven Cardinals that shot above 40 percent from the field last season (.464; also 25-of-57 three-pointers, .439), he scored in double digits in nine games.
- Scored 17 points, knocking down 4-of-8 from the three-point line while pulling down four rebounds against Middle Tennessee in the second round of the NIT.
- UofL was 8-1 when Nwora scored in double figures.
- ACC Rookie of the Week for games Feb. 5-11 when he averaged 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, shot 59.1 percent from the field and made 7-of-11 three-pointers (.636) as the Cardinals won two of three games.
- Came off the bench against Georgia Tech to score a team-high 16 points along with a career-best four steals and knocked down a career-high five three-pointers (5-of-7).
- Scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds while playing 16 minutes against Boston College, more than he had scored in UofL’s previous 11 games combined.
- Totaled 18 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against Southern Illinois.
- Scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in 14 minutes against George Mason in his collegiate debut, connecting on 3-of-3 three-pointers.
- Played for the Nigeria national team in the 2018 FIBA World Cup African Qualifiers June 29-July 1 in Lagos, Nigeria. Â In three games, Nwora tied for the average scoring lead among all players in the 16-team event with a 21.7 average in his three games. Â His 8.0 rebounding average was 10th in the qualifiers, his 2.3 steals per game tied for third, and his 2.7 assists ranked 16th.
- Totaled 36 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals for Nigeria in a 93-53 victory over Mali on July 1. Â His 36 points is the most ever scored by a Nigerian player in a major tournament, a mark previously held by Ikechukwu Diogu with 31 points on two occasions. Â Nwora made 12-of-20 field goals in the game, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 free throws.
- Â Nwora has dual citizenship with Nigeria. His father Alex serves as the head coach of the Nigerian team.
-  His father Alex Nwora has been the head men’s basketball coach at Erie Community College in Buffalo, N.Y. since 1999.  He played basketball at Daemen College, where he is the career rebounding leader with 1,104 rebounds ranks sixth in career scoring with 1,514 points (1989-93).
- In his final prep season at Vermont Academy in Saxtons River, Vt., he averaged 18.7 points and 5.3 rebounds while scoring over 500 points in the 2016-17 season as Vermont finished 19-11.
- Honored as a Class AA All New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) selection. He was named his team’s most improved player and was on the all-tournament team for the ZG Prep Classic.
- Scored a season-high 38 points at Vermont Academy in a victory over Holderness.
- Averaged 23.4 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior in 2015-16 in leading The Park School in Buffalo, N.Y. to the Manhattan Cup Class A final, where his team fell by two points in overtime to eventual state champion Canisius.
- A two-time All-West New York selection, Nwora ranked No. 54 in the ESPN 100, No. 90 nationally by Rivals.com, and 105th by 247Sports.com composite.Â
- Totaled 19 points, seven rebounds and two assists (8-16 FG) in 18 minutes in the 2017 Jordan Regional game played in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. He also participated in the Derby Festival Classic game, producing seven points and seven rebounds.
- A 1,000-point career scorer at Park, Nwora was impressive during the summer when he averaged 14.6 points per game and shot 39.2 percent from three-point range for The Rens, his AAU squad.
- As a junior at Park, Nwora averaged 23.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and shot 42 percent from three-point range in helping Park post a 23-3 record and win its first Catholic High School Athletic Association state championship. He totaled 29 points and 12 rebounds in the title game over New York City champion Maspeth while earning MVP honors at the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions Class B title.
- His father Alex Nwora has been the head men’s basketball coach at Erie Community College in Buffalo, N.Y. since 1999. He played basketball at Daemen College, where he is the career rebounding leader with 1,104 rebounds ranks sixth in career scoring with 1,514 points (1989-93).
- One of five Vermont Academy players from his class who signed with Division I colleges.
- Narrowed his collegiate choices to also include NC State, Cal, Georgia Tech, Marquette and Oklahoma State before signing with UofL.
- Born Sept. 9, 1998 ... Son of Amy and Alex Nwora ... Has three younger siblings:Â Ronni, Caeli and Alexis ... Major is exercise science.
- Personal goal at UofL is to “become the best player I can be.”
- Enjoys traveling in his spare time.
- Chose to attend UofL because of “the great people and tradition.”
- Best basketball advice given to always work your hardest.
- Most proud of winning a state championship as a junior at The Park School.
- Feels Will Smith would be the best actor to play him in a movie.
- His parents have had the greatest influence on his athletic career.
- When he played basketball as a kid, he pretended he was Carmelo Anthony.
- If you walked into his dorm room, the first thing you would notice are his jerseys on the wall.
- Chose to wear No. 33 because his father’s number was 34, so he picked 33.
- Best thing about being a Cardinal is meeting
other Cardinals. - Would most like to meet Beyonce.
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