Mbamalu is standout at Lake Norman Charter

Lake Norman Charter’s Ezinne Mbamalu is still a gem in the rough.

“She’s just so raw,” said Knights’ coach Bobby Williams about the junior center. “And that makes her ability, her potential scary.”

When Mbamalu tried out for Williams’ Lake Norman Charter team as a freshman, Williams recalls seeing potential, but he admits that she was far from being technically sound on the court.

Despite her greenness, Mbamalu made the Knights’ varsity team and has been a starter ever since.

She averaged nearly 9 points and 13 rebounds as a freshman. Last year, Mbamalu led the 20-8 Knights with almost 14 points and 14 rebounds per game.

Aside from her double-double, she averaged 4.5 blocks a game to earn All-Southern Piedmont 1A/2A honors.

Mbamalu said she’s had to learn to use her 6-foot-2 frame to her advantage, especially while playing with her back to the net.

She grew up being taller than most peers and had to play against girls two or three years older to level the field in youth basketball.

Because of her height advantage, Mbamalu was used mostly as a barrier to the basket.

“My coaches were always like, ‘You’re so tall. Just stand up straight and they can’t shoot over you,’ ” said Mbamalu, who began to play basketball at the YMCA in second grade but didn’t start taking the sport seriously until middle school.

Not building an offensive or defensive skill set when she was younger, she’s had to learn the game’s fundamentals on the run.

Williams credits Mbamalu’s development in her willingness to learn.

He said Mbamalu sometimes even skips water breaks during practice to work on her drop step or on other aspects of her post game.

“She constantly works and that’s all you can ask from a kid,” said Williams. “Every day she’s expanding her game.”

Williams added that Mbamalu takes coaching well: “Give me five girls like that and we’ll hang some banners in here.”

Since her freshman year, Mbamalu has grown her offensive skill set, and has worked to expand that outside of the paint. Williams said that she’s also developed shooting range, even hitting 3-pointers in practice.

Mbamalu said she worked on her ball handling as she looks to improve her ability to drive to the basket and to be less of a liability when forced to dribble the basketball.

Trying to also reduce turnovers, she’s worked on holding the ball higher down low to prevent smaller opponents from the slapping it out of her hands.

On the defensive end, she’s continued to work on her timing to get more blocks. Mbamalu takes comfort, and pride, in her ability to deny her opponents.

“It’s also more of a confidence thing for me,” said Mbamalu. “That’s one of the first things I learned to do since I wasn’t always that big of an offensive or even defensive threat.”

Mbamalu’s defense is integral for the team, not only deterring opponents from attacking the paint but also forcing turnovers that allow Lake Norman Charter to play transition basketball.

Despite making a big impact on the court, Williams said that Mbamalu is a reserved player.

“You would think she’s the loud person on the team, and every once in a while she’ll bark at somebody, but for the most part she goes quietly around her business,” he said.

“She lets her game do the talking.”

Mbamalu said she’s worked to become a better leader, although “not being mean” has made it tough.

“My personality gets in the way of that sometimes because I’m too silly, too goofy,” she said. “I think I’ve gotten a lot better though.”

Mbamalu hopes to lead Lake Norman Charter to an SPC title this year after the Knights were second last year to North Lincoln, which graduated a couple of the conference’s top players from last season.

Coming off an all-conference season, Alex Busch should come up big again for Lake Norman Charter. The high-leaping junior forward averaged 12 points and six rebounds last year.

“She’s in a zone by herself,” said Williams. “She has pure athleticism; she jumps where I call ‘rare air’ – not many girls can get to where she get.”

Last year’s team’s most-valuable player, senior Carolyn Huddy, also returns. The combo guard averaged three points, three assists and two steals per game, but her importance goes beyond her numbers.

“She does all the things that don’t show up on the box score,” said Williams.

Guard Brittany Buckstad will also be back on the starting line-up, while Mallard Creek transfer Sierra Wiley should also contribute.

“We have so many weapons,” said Williams. “That gives us a big advantage.”

Mbamalu has high goals for her team, including having a chance to play in March for a state title.

“With the ability and skill that we have, and the chemistry that we have, I’m sure we can go all the way,” said Mbamalu.