Bigger Than Basketball: Nuni Omot’s College Career

News / Uncategorized

hoopsandchrist
March 11, 2018

Share

Bigger Than Basketball: Nuni Omot’s College Career

Nuni Omot, a 6’9 forward for the Baylor Bears, has had a journey unlike any others. Nuni was born 23 years ago in a Kenyan refugee camp where his family stayed for three years after moving over 400 miles to escape war-torn Ethiopia. Nuni’s mother had to make the ultimate sacrifices for their family and has worked numerous jobs for them to live a comfortable life after moving to Minneapolis St. Paul, Nuni credits his mom for being where he is today.

Despite his childhood circumstances, it would be hard to know that Nuni’s background was different than his teammates. He plays basketball with character and confidence and brought a spark to the Baylor Bears that they desperately needed mid-season. As a key contributor off the bench, Nuni scored 30 PTS for Baylor in his senior game, tying his career high.

Nuni was a late bloomer, growing six inches late into his High School career when he finally made varsity his Junior Year. Omot was then overlooked by NCAA Division I schools, with a few offers from Division II schools. He signed with Division II Concordia University in St. Paul where he averaged 12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds as a redshirt freshman in 2014-15. Omot transferred as a third-year sophomore to Indian Hills Community College, an NJCAA power in Ottumwa, Iowa, and quickly became the number 2 NJCAA player in the country. Finally- college coaches took notice. Nuni finally got his dream of signing with a D1 College and committed to the Baylor Bears.

Omot hopes to continue to play basketball once his Senior season is officially over, and land a spot on an NBA Roster. We caught up with Nuni to ask him to reflect on his senior season and what his post-college career looks like.

Now that your regular season ended, how do you feel it went? Are there any regrets?

The season was up and down, I don’t really have any regrets. But I do wish that we could’ve played better at the beginning of the season. I’m happy that we started to figure it out towards the end of the season when it really mattered.

What was your favorite memory from the regular season? What did you improve on the most your senior year? 

My favorite memory was beating Kansas at home. What I improved on the most was probably staying positive and keeping a consistently positive attitude.

What are you looking forward to the most about the NCAA tournament this year? 

The upsets are the craziest part of the tournament, and definitely what I look forward to most

When it’s all said and done, what are the biggest lessons and experiences you took away from your college career? 

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that it’s more than just yourself. Obviously, at the level that I’m at, you’ve gotta work extremely hard.

What is your biggest motivation for you regarding life itself? What motivates you the most to wake up and grind and work hard? What pushes you every day? 

I would say, my mom, because she’s had to sacrifice a lot for us and without her, I wouldn’t be here.

How did it feel playing your last game on a senior night, and what impact did you feel like you left on the school and program?

Last game was emotional, just because I won’t be playing in college anymore. Obviously, college is supposed to be the most fun time of your life. I left it all out on the floor. The impact I made here at Baylor involved bringing a different and unique type of character to the team and university.

How does your faith impact and influence your basketball career?

Well if it wasn’t for my faith, I wouldn’t be in the situation I am – playing basketball at a power 5 conference, and I wouldn’t be able to keep playing after basketball. God has steered me in a direction to succeed and without him, I wouldn’t be able to continue what I’m doing as a basketball player and a man.

Leave Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe for email to stay up to date.

Sign me up for Hoops and Christ emails, featuring exclusive offers, latest product info, news about upcoming events, and more.