| EJ Onu | |
| Position: | Power forward / center |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lbs: | 240 |
| League: | Liga ACB |
| Team: | Río Breogán |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | 31 July 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Cleveland, Ohio |
| High School: | Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) |
| College: | Shawnee State (2017–2021) |
| Draftyear: | 2021 |
| Career Start: | 2021 |
| Years1: | 2021–2022 |
| Team1: | Texas Legends |
| Years2: | 2022 |
| Team2: | Memphis Hustle |
| Years3: | 2022 |
| Team3: | Niagara River Lions |
| Years4: | 2022–2023 |
| Team4: | Memphis Hustle |
| Years5: | 2023 |
| Team5: | Santa Cruz Warriors |
| Years6: | 2023 |
| Team6: | Niagara River Lions |
| Years7: | 2023–2024 |
| Team7: | Brose Bamberg |
| Years8: | 2024–present |
| Team8: | Río Breogán |
| Highlights: |
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EJ Onu (born July 31, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Río Breogán of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the Shawnee State Bears.
Born to Nigerian parents, Ejiofor Onu grew up near Cleveland, Ohio. He started playing basketball at age 14 and stood under as a high school freshman.[1] Onu played for Richmond Heights High School in Richmond Heights, Ohio, earning Division IV All-Northeast Lake District honors from the Associated Press. He also ran track in high school.[2]
During his freshman season at Shawnee State, Onu set a program single-game record with 11 blocks against the University of the Cumberlands.[2] As a freshman, he averaged 9.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and a nation-leading 3.4 blocks per game, earning Mid-South Conference (MSC) Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors.[3] He set a program single-season record for blocks.[4] In his sophomore season, he averaged 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Onu was selected to the Second Team All-MSC.[3]
As a junior, Onu averaged 11.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and a nation-leading 5.7 blocks per game. He was an Honorable Mention National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American, First Team All-MSC and MSC Defensive Player of the Year.[5] As a senior, Onu averaged 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game, earning First Team NAIA All-American, MSC Player of the Year and First Team All-MSC honors.[6] For a third time, he was named MSC Defensive Player of the Year and led the nation in blocks. Onu became Shawnee State's all-time leader in blocks while ranking third in points and rebounds.[7] He helped his team win an NAIA national championship.[8] After the season, Onu declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal.[9] [10] [11] On July 6, 2021, he announced that he was remaining in the draft.[12]
After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Onu joined the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA Summer League.[13] On August 21, 2021, the Mavericks announced that they had signed Onu,[14] but was waived by the on September 4.[15] He returned to Dallas on October 15, 2021, but was waived a day later.[16] On October 23, he signed with the Texas Legends as an affiliate player.[17] Onu was then later waived by the Legends on January 13, 2022.[18]
On January 14, 2022, Onu was acquired via available player pool by the Memphis Hustle. In 25 games, he averaged 5.96 points and 3.72 rebounds.[19]
On April 5, 2022, Onu signed with the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He was named the CEBL Defensive Player of the Year after averaging a league record 3.3 blocks per game, establishing Niagara as one of the best defensive teams in the league.[20]
Onu joined the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[21] On November 4, 2022, Onu was named to the opening night roster for the Memphis Hustle.[22]
On January 22, 2023, Onu was traded to the Santa Cruz Warriors in exchange for Tremont Waters.[23]
On April 4, 2023, Onu returned to the Niagara River Lions.[24]
On July 14, 2023, Onu signed with Brose Bamberg of the easyCredit BBL.[25]
On June 29, 2024, he signed with Río Breogán of the Liga ACB.[26]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;"| Shawnee State| 30 || 30 || – || .517 || .256 || .723 || 5.2 || .4 || .2 || 3.4 || 9.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Shawnee State| 30 || 29 || – || .570 || .346 || .728 || 6.5 || .2 || .2 || 3.1 || 12.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| Shawnee State| 32 || 32 || 30.7 || .451 || .270 || .679 || 7.8 || .4 || .3 || 5.7 || 11.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Shawnee State| 33 || 33 || 29.6 || .573 || .400 || .748 || 8.1 || .5 || .7 || 4.5 || 16.9|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 125 || 124 || – || .528 || .330 || .721 || 6.9 || .4 || .3 || 4.2 || 12.6