Cards helping Onyekwulnne reach the zenith of his potential

Having played ball in the gym and playgrounds, Zenith Onyekwulnne is trying to convert his love for the game to the hard court. "It was hard at the beginning but I'm getting used to it now," said the grade 11 Brennan student who has never played organized ball before this season.

His coach Mike Kainz likes the fact that Onyekwulnne is green. "It's like a clean slate to work with, and he does listen," Kainz said. "Just seeing his improvement since the start of the season is amazing."

Onyekwulnne's mom is from Camaroon and his dad is Nigerian and were working together in China when Zenith was born. He lived in Nigeria where he played a lot of soccer before arriving in Windsor four years ago. "I started playing basketball in grade 8 and everybody was like you have to take basketball seriously."

Gifted athletically, Onyekwulnne also plays football for the Cardinals. He is getting more playing time and Kainz feels with more experience Onyekwulnne can play a bigger role for the team. "The more he picks it up the more better our team will be."

Last year Brennan didn't win a game in Tier 1 so Kainz decided to drop down to Tier 2. The Cards have responded with a 6-1 record after Tuesday's 62-54 win at Assumption. "We're excited with the way we started," Kainz said. "I'm excited at the improvements we've made over last year and hopefully it'll carry forward for the rest of the season.

Catholic Central is the top team at 7-0. The Cards moved into a second plance tie with Leamington who also has a 6-1 record. Massey is 4th and Maranatha fell to 5th after losing to Cardinal Carter Tuesday. Brennan will host CCH Thursday in their last ame before the exam break.

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