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Wagner adds former Central Connecticut State star Obie Nwadike as a grad assistant

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Wagner College

While he may have played his college basketball at Wagner, there’s a good chance that fans familiar with the program remember former Central Connecticut State forward Obie Nwadike.

In four seasons at CCSU Nwadike proved to be one of the best rebounders in school history (despite being 6-4), grabbing 980 caroms as a Blue Devil. After playing overseas for four seasons ( in Luxembourg and Spain) Nwadike has decided to move into the coaching ranks, and on Friday it was announced that Wagner’s hired him as a graduate assistant.

Nwadike, who played his high school ball at St. Anthony H.S. in Jersey City for Bob Hurley Sr., also managed to score more than 1,200 points at CCSU. His addition to the staff can only help the Wagner front line as the Seahawks begin the task of accounting for the loss of leading rebounder Jonathon Williams (6.4 rpg).

Wagner got its work done on the glass as a unit last season, with four players averaging between 4.3 (forward Orlando Parker and guard Kenneth Ortiz) and 6.4 (Williams) rebounds per game. As a result the Seahawks were one of the NEC’s best rebounding teams in 2012-13, finishing the season ranked second in rebounding margin (+3.5) and third in both offensive (34.9%) and defensive (69.5%) rebounding percentages.

But with Williams no longer in the picture, senior center Naofall Folahan (3.2 rpg) is one interior player who will be asked to do more on the glass in 2013-14. Folahan finished the season with rebounding percentages of 10.5 (offensive) and 15.6 (defensive), meaning that he was productive on the boards when in the game. But he played an average of just 14.6 minutes per game as a junior so the questions now are: can he earn more playing time, and can he produce at that level with more minutes?

Maybe the addition of Nwadike can help when it comes to Folahan’s development, and if the big man improves the Seahawks will have a better chance against perennial favorites LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris this winter.

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