Biography

Nwachukwu Iheukwumere Chima Moneke (born 24 December 1995) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the Basketball League of Serbia (KLS), the ABA League and the EuroLeague. At 6" 7 tall, he plays at the power forward position. He also represents the Nigerian national team in international competition. Moneke was born in Abuja, Nigeria, before moving to Canberra, Australia to begin schooling. His parents, Sydney and Eucharia Moneke, were diplomats of the Nigerian embassy. He attended Farrer Primary School and Lake Ginninderra College before traveling again throughout the world. In 2013, Moneke enrolled at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, where he stayed for two seasons (2013–15). In his sophomore season he averaged 17 ppg and 12.1 rpg which led the team to a 25–7 record. He then transferred to the University of California at Davis. After his redshirt season, he led the Aggies to an NCAA tournament berth for the first time in school history in the 2016–17 season. He was named Big West Conference tournament MVP. In the tournament they defeated North Carolina Central in the play-in game in which Moneke had 18 points and 12 rebounds. They would go on to lose to the #1 overall seed Kansas, where Moneke finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game with 14 double-doubles. In the 2017–18 season, he averaged 18.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per performance in 21 games with the Aggies. He debuted with the Nigeria men's national basketball team in 2020, playing three qualifying matches for the Afrobasket. In 2021, he was summoned for the pre-selection to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career Details