Michaela Onyenwere visited Italy in middle school for a class trip, but her latest trip to “The Boot” was about business.
The Grandview girls basketball star recently returned from a trip to Treviso, Italy, where she played three games with the adidas U.S. Select Team, which featured 10 top players from around the country in the adidas grassroots program.
The memory of the length of the flight to Italy from her trip as a 13-year-old at Aurora Quest K-8 gave Onyenwere pause, but in the end she couldn’t pass up the chance to travel and play abroad. Plus, she already had a passport.
“A first when I thought about the flight I didn’t know if I wanted to go; I was being silly,” Onyenwere said. “I’m so glad I went.”
Onyenwere was part of the inaugural girls Select Team, the counterpart of the adidas boys team that has sent teams to Italy for several years. Overland grad and Indiana University signee De’Ron Davis played with that team in Treviso in 2014 and 2015.
The rest of the American girls roster included players from across the country and they met up in Chicago before a flight to Ireland and then to Italy, where they immediately had a practice at La Ghirada Sports Complex, where they played their games.
With just a handful of two-hour practices together, Onyenwere said some of the games were a bit of a struggle, especially going against veteran, aggressive teams from Italy who were used to the rules (shot clock, bonus free throws coming earlier and stricter dribbling rules).
Still, the Americans finished 3-0 with a 76-65 win over Ponzano (with Onyenwere leading the way with 22 points), a decisive 82-59 victory over Umana Reyer Vevezia (with Onyenwere pouring in 25) and a 72-67 victory over Udine (Onyenwere had 15 points before fouling out).
Onyenwere felt she came away as a better player from the chance to go against teams of players that had obvious experience and physical advantages.
“Italians have a reputation of having better skills, so that gave me confidence to see where I stand,” she said. “If I can get my skill level up to their level with my athleticism, that will make me a much better player.”
The last game proved most memorable for Onyenwere, as the Americans faced an Udine team with a 27-year-old player and a very aggressive style.
Onyenwere got smacked in the face by the physicality, literally, as she had a tooth knocked out as she defended an inbounds play.
“They had a good inbounds play with two girls setting a screen and the point guard would have been wide open if nobody hedged,” Onyenwere said. “So I hedged and she ran full speed right into my mouth. There was no blood and didn’t hurt, but I was in shock. I ran back to the bench with my tooth in my hand saying ‘my tooth is gone!’ I was in shock, but I went back in and played.”
She fouled out and had to watch her team, down to just six players because of another foul out, hold on for the win.
Onyenwere had the tooth fixed immediately on her return to Colorado by her aunt who is a dentist and will now wear a specially-made mouthguard.
Outside of play, Onyenwere and the team visited Venice — a short trip from Treviso — rode a gondola and visited the Guggenheim Museum. Though she and many of her teammates didn’t exactly enjoy the food the team was served, they ordered pizza a coupe of times, Onyenwere said she enjoyed her exposure to a new culture. The team members were treated like celebrities in a lot of places.
Onyenwere gets a short break in the summer before she gets back to playing. With her recruiting blowing up, she will visit three Division I schools in the fall and hopes to be decided before her senior season begins with Grandview, which made last season’s Class 5A state semifinals.
“People keep asking me, ‘where are you going to go? Where are you going to go? I really don’t know,” she said. “In a perfect world, I would have everything decided by mid-October.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
