Vandal makes most of his chance

Roughly a month into his freshman season, Idaho’s O.J. Avworo went from easing into his role as backup point guard to a player who rarely leaves the court. His minutes soared after Mario Mackey left the team in early December.

Avworo played all 40 minutes in his first game as a starter against Idaho State. He played 45 minutes in an overtime loss to Fresno State recently. Avworo is responding favorably to his on-the-job training. He leads Idaho in assists (75) and is the only player on the team with more assists than turnovers (54). He’s also this week’s Q & A guest.

S-R: What does O.J. stand for?

Avworo: Ojevwe. A lot of coaches and recruiting analysts had problems saying my name, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and let them call me O.J.

S-R: What does Ojevwe mean?

Avworo: It basically means, ‘I like him anyway’ in Nigerian because my mom wanted a girl and I have four brothers and a sister.

S-R: Still plan on studying pre-med?

Avworo: Not anymore. I’m majoring in finance and I’ll stick with that and probably go to law school. I just figured medicine wasn’t for me. I have a brother and sister that are pharmacists. I thought I might follow their footsteps.

S-R: How has your role changed the last two months?

Avworo: When Mario left, there was kind of a hole that left with him. Coach (George) Pfeifer wanted to see if I could fill that hole. Early on, I guess I did a pretty good job of doing that in terms of ball-handling and not turning the ball over. Now he’s looking for me to become more of a leader so I can move into next year on a positive note.

S-R: You were recruited by numerous schools – Stanford, Rice, SMU, Navy, a bunch of Texas schools. Why’d you choose Idaho?

Avworo: I just felt comfortable on my visit and saw this was the place for me to make a difference and that’s what I want to do. Regardless of our record, I still feel I’ll be able to make an impact. If I don’t, it’s on me, not the school or the program or anyone else.

S-R: Best guard you’ve faced?

Avworo: There’s so many, wow. Coby Karl, even though he’s a (Boise State) Bronco. He’s really talented, he’s a smart player and he knows how to work the refs. And the kid from North Dakota State, Ben Woodside. He can shoot it and he’s really quick.