First Name: Will
Last Name: Njoku
Sport: Basketball
Inductee Type: Athlete
Year Inducted: 2011
Home Town: Halifax
County: Halifax County
Details:

One of very few Canadians drafted by the NBA, Will Njoku did it while playing for Saint Mary’s in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. A 6’9½” forward born in Accra, Ghana, Njoku immigrated to Canada as a four-year-old along with his parents Lawrence and Catherine. Will attended hometown Saint Mary’s University, where in his junior year (1993) he was winner of the Mike Moser Award as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s (CIAU) Most Outstanding Player. In his junior and senior seasons he was also named a CIAU All-Canadian. Njoku was drafted in the second round of the 1994 NBA Draft with the 41st pick overall by the Indiana Pacers. A member of the Canadian National Team for ten years, he played in two FIBA World Championships.

As a player for the St. Mary’s Huskies, he was the second all-time leading scorer. He was a two-time All-Canadian, AUS All-Star, and League MVP. He was one of the only AUAA players to win the Mike Mosher Award as the country’s most outstanding player. Njoku also played 10 years of professional basketball in both Europe and the United States.

Since retiring from playing professional basketball, Njoku has been involved in coaching and motivational speaking. Having lived in Toronto for the off-seasons during much of his playing career, he now resides in Moncton, New Brunswick. He was the Athletics Director at Crandall University from Sept 2007 – Sept 2010, when he left to focus on his motivational speaking company, Will2Win.

Facts:

• CIS MVP, 1993
• AUS MVP, 1993 and 1994
• All Canadian, 1993 and 1994
• Halifax Metro High School MVP, 1990
• Canadian Junior Men’s Team, 1991
• Canadian Senior Men’s Team, 1993-1998
• Drafted NBA 1994, 41st overall Indiana Pacers
• Portuguese League all-star, 1998
• Most rebounds in one game CIS Final 8-21
• 2nd alltime leading scorer Saint Mary’s University