Nnadubem Gabriel Enyinaya Muoneke (born 7 February 1978, in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

) is a Nigerian American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Despite being born in the United States, Muoneke represents

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

internationally. Muoneke attended

Cypress Falls High School Cypress Falls High School is a secondary school in an unincorporated area of Harris County, Texas, United States. The current principal is Ms. Becky Denton. Cypress Falls is part of the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District, which start ...

in northwest

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. After graduation, he enrolled at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, from which he graduated in 2000 with his degree in Petroleum Engineering. After starting for 4 years on the school's basketball team, Muoneke went undrafted out of college. He is ranked in the top 15 in the history of University of Texas basketball in both scoring and rebounding. He was a first round pick of the Columbus Riverdragons (now

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in 8 ...

) then the

Roanoke Dazzle The Roanoke Dazzle were an NBA Development League team based in Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.. In operation from the inaugural D-League season of 2001–02 through the 2005–06 season, the Dazzle marked the return of professional basketball to Roanoke ...

also of the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

. He has played in multiple NBA summer leagues including that of the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

and the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. Muoneke also signed non-guaranteed NBA contracts with the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Bobcats and the Utah Jazz but was waived from all four teams. Muoneke has played around the world, including with the Ponce Lions in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Pınar" means "Spring" (of water), and/or "Fountain". Notable people called Pınar include: Given name * Pinar Heggernes (born 1969), Turkish-born Norwegian computer scientist * Pınar ...

in Turkey, the

Beijing Olympians The Beijing Olympians or Beijing Aoshen Olympians or Beijing Aoshen () was a Chinese professional men's basketball team that formerly played in the Chinese Basketball Association and the West Coast Pro Basketball League. They have also played ...

in China, Busan KTF Magic Wings,

Seoul SK Knights The Seoul SK Knights ( ko, 서울 SK 나이츠) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. The club was originally founded by Jinro Group in 1997 as Cheongju Jinro McCass. Before the official launch of the basketball clu ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, Caceres in Spain and Saba Battery in Iran, among other places. Since November 2007, Muoneke has been maintaining a blog on Hoopshype.com, where he discusses his playing career, life in foreign countries, and politics. In Winter 2007-08 he signed a contract with '07-'08 ACB Champion and Euroleague Final Four Participant,

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

ACB to replace the injured James Singleton. When the contract expired, the team's renewal offer was not accepted by Muoneke and both parties mutually parted ways. During his time in China, Muoneke broke many scoring records and was amongst the top scorers in China in all three of his seasons in the country. While playing for the Yunnan Running Bulls, Muoneke was physically attacked during a postgame confrontation between himself and Chinese national team captain and Shanghai Sharks player Liu Wei. After Muoneke and the Sharks' Cai Liang wrestled for the ball during the game, Cai, Liu and some Sharks players confronted Muoneke, his wife, children and mother-in-law as they were leaving the stadium. Muoneke had a water bottle thrown at him, before being chased and cornered by the players. Liu and Cai were subsequently fined and suspended. The Shanghai Sharks were also fined. Muoneke was not injured. He signed with ASVEL Villeurbanne for the 2008-09 season, but was released in September. He then signed with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

but was waived in October. On his blog in 2009, he alluded to a retirement from professional basketball and subsequently did retire at the age of 30. Muoneke then continued his career in African oil and gas in 2010 and has apparently started his own company in his parents' home country of Nigeria.

Career

* Fort Wayne Fury (2000) * Chicago Skyliners (2000) *

Trenton Shooting Stars The Trenton Shooting Stars were a professional basketball team in the International Basketball League (IBL) from 1999 to 2001. History The team was owned by Herb Greenberg and Larry Keating was the president: Kevin Mackey was named coach and dir ...

(2000) *

(2000–2001) *

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in th ...

(2001) *

Columbus Riverdragons Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

(2001–2002) * Santurce Crabbers (2002) * Purefoods TJ Hot Dogs (2002) *

(2002–2003) *

CB Cáceres CB and variants may refer to: Places * CB postcode area, British post code for eastern England served by the Cambridge postal sorting office * Cambodia (FIPS Pub 10-4 country code and obsolete NATO digram CB) * Cape Breton (disambiguation) * C ...

(2003) * Beijing Aoshen (2003–2004) *

Coamo Marathon Runners Coamo (, ) is a town and municipality founded in 1579 in the south-central region of Puerto Rico, located north of Santa Isabel; south of Orocovis and Barranquitas; east of Villalba and Juana Díaz; and west of Aibonito and Salinas. Coam ...

(2004) * Busan KTF Magic Wings (2004–2005) *

(2005) *

(2005–2006) * Ponce Lions (2006) *

Zhejiang Guangsha The Zhejiang Guangsha Lions () are a Chinese professional basketball team based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, which plays in the North Division of the Chinese Basketball Association. Guangsha is the name of the club's corporate sponsor, but to prevent con ...

(2006–2007) *

Saba Battery Saba Battery Club (also Saba Battery Physical and Cultural Gym) is an Iranian sports club based in Tehran, Iran. The club was founded in 2002شود Teams * Saba Battery Football Club, competing in the Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro Leagu ...

(2007) *

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won f ...

(2007) *

TAU Cerámica Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

(2007–2008) *

(2008) *

ASVEL Villeurbanne ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon ...

(2008) *

Yunnan Bulls Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls () or Yunnan Honghe or Yunnan Running Bulls were a basketball team in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), based in Mengzi, Honghe, Yunnan (). They won the 2004 Chinese Basketball Leag ...

(2008–2009)

Career

Notes

External links