AURORA | The accolades continue to roll in for budding Grandview girls basketball star Michaela Onyenwere, who was named the 2014-15 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year Thursday.
The 5-foot-11 sophomore averaged 23.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game for coach Josh Ulitzky’s Wolves, who advanced to the Class 5A Sweet 16 before falling to Lakewood on March 3.
Onyenwere is the first Gatorade girls player of the year from Grandview, but the third straight overall for Aurora schools, following the Regis Jesuit duo of Justine Hall (2013-14) and Diani Akigbogun (2012-13). Onyenwere is now eligible for Gatorade’s national player of the year award, which is announced later in March.
“I definitely think my confidence was higher than it was last year,” Onyenwere said. “Last year, I wouldn’t have taken some of the shots I took this year and if you’re not taking the shots, you won’t get the results. I also needed to take more of a leadership role this year and I think that helps me with confidence.”
Ulitzky decided to move Onyenwere from a post position out to the perimeter to diminish the physical toll on her. Though she still felt pretty beat up by the end of the season, Onyenwere learned to embrace the change.
“I like being away from the basket; I thought I wouldn’t, but it’s a change that I really like,” she said.
Playing more on the perimeter, Onyenwere knocked down five 3-pointers on the season, which helped her raise her scoring average by five points from her outstanding season and push past the 1,000-point milestone in just two seasons.
Onyenwere’s last game of the season was the best of her career, as she piled up career highs in points (43) and rebounds (29) in the Wolves’ 86-83 loss at Lakewood.
On Monday, Onyenwere was selected for the second time to the annual The Show all-star game sponsored by the Denver Nuggets, which features 20 0f the top players in Colorado from all five classifications as selected by the Nuggets and a panel of media members. She was the MVP of last season’s Show game and also was a first team All-City and All-State selection.
According to a press release from Gatorade, Onyenwere has a 3.57 weighted GPA and has done a variety of community service projects, including work at a nursing home and at a homeless shelter, in addition to serving as a peer mentor.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasnetinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel