New season, new focus: Emma-Nnopu's expansive game on show

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Antoniette Emma-Nnopu does all the small things at an extremely high level on the court and that adds up to her having a huge impact on every game she plays.

The Weber State forward, who hails from Victoria, is putting up career-best numbers in her senior year of college and in doing so, is proving what she could provide to WNBL teams across Australia in the future.

Emma-Nnopu’s college journey began at UNC Greensboro in 2022, and after two years with the Spartans she entered the transfer portal looking for opportunities to expand her game. Weber State came calling and since then, Emma-Nnopu has started in 34 of 36 games played, including all seven so far this season.

She’s taken full advantage of the opportunities that have come her way, playing 28 minutes per game and averaging career-highs across the board with 15 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.

Of the 23 players across Division 1 averaging at least 10.6 rebounds per game, Emma-Nnopu is averaging the most assists per game, highlighting her versatility and commitment to improvement after averaging one assist per game last season.

“My goal this year for me personally was just to improve my outside game, whether it was shooting, assists or taking my player off the dribble,” Emma-Nnopu told basketball.com.au.

“I honed in on focusing and improving on that because I had the post moves down pat and last season I just noticed when people started covering me in the post I was kind of stuck because while I had an outside game, it wasn't fully developed, so in the summer I really took time to focus on improving that.”

That work has been on full display, especially over the last four games with Emma-Nnopu averaging 5.5 assists per game, including two eight-assist games. There’s no doubt her versatility is making her tougher to defend, but as it always has been for Emma-Nnopu, it all starts with rebounding. She is relentless on the boards and will stop at nothing to get her team an extra possession.

“Scoring isn't first on my mind, it's rebounding,” she said.

“I'm always telling my coaches to be on me for rebounding because those extra possessions each game really makes a difference, even on defence so that the offence doesn't get a second-chance opportunity.”

Rebounding clearly runs in the Emma-Nnopu genes, with Antoniette’s older sister Agnes – who is currently playing her rookie WNBL season with the Sydney Flames after a stellar college career at Stanford and TCU – well-known for her ruthless attack on the boards.

I can only imagine what the backyard battles were like when they were growing up. One thing is for sure, there wouldn’t have been a single backwards step taken by either of the sisters.

While she’s often not the tallest player on the court, Antoniette explains her rebounding thought process and how Agnes has influenced her game.

“Just getting in there and using your strength over height, I feel like is a really good tactic to use,” she said.

“Agnes went to the AIS, while I had a different pathway, and I feel like looking up to her has really helped my game and so that's why [our style] kind of looks quite similar.

“She really inspires me.”

Being by Agnes’ side as she went through the college recruitment process also made Antoniette realise that going to college was what she wanted too.

“I was there for Agnes’ visits, I was witnessing all of that and just taking it in, and I just felt like it was something that I wanted to do,” she said.

“Obviously, it’s so different in Australia, you just go straight to it professionally and I still wanted to do school and basketball at the same time.

“I just thought college would be perfect, because you get to hone in on being an athlete and also being a student at the same time.”

That decision has certainly served Antoniette well, as has the decision to transfer to Weber State. She mentions coach Jenteal Jackson’s openness being a major factor in her decision to join the Wildcats, knowing she had to expand her game before turning pro.

“I had two great years at UNCG, but their coaching style was more old school; post players weren’t allowed to leave the paint area, they weren't allowed to dribble or shoot,” she said.

“I just wanted to expand my game, knowing that after college I was going to go back home and continue playing NBL1 and hopefully play WNBL, so I knew I had to improve my outside game.”

“That was the main focus as to why I entered the portal last season and then just Jenteal Jackson's transparency, she told me straight up, ‘I saw you at your old school and you were good, but that's not going to determine whether you're playing, you’ve got to show up every day.

“She didn’t make empty promises, she’s always been transparent, and she cares for you as a person, more than just being a player.”

That connection and belief between player and coach has helped Emma-Nnopu blossom into one of the most productive and versatile forwards in the Big Sky Conference, and while her goal to make it to the WNBL one day is very real, she remains focused on finishing off her college career in style.

“It would really mean a lot [to play in the WNBL],” she said.

“Just being able to take it to that next level would really be a highlight and if I get to play with my sister that would even be amazing.

“I’m looking forward to getting back home and playing professionally, but right now I’m focused on finishing this season off very strongly.”

Whether she’s dishing out dimes, going to work in the paint or controlling the boards, Antoniette Emma-Nnopu is going to leave it all out there.

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.