Chineze Nwagbo vividly remembers sitting on the bench against Notre Dame in the women’s basketball Big East tournament two years ago.

She was in uniform, but there was no chance she’d play for the Syracuse women’s basketball team that day. Instead, she remained at the end of the bench. With her leg propped up, she felt helpless as she watched her teammates defeat Notre Dame.

Just one day earlier, against West Virginia on March 2, 2002, Nwagbo tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. It was an injury that caused her considerable physical and emotional pain and forced her to miss all of last year.

Nwagbo is back this year, but the healing process still remains as Syracuse prepares to face West Virginia (16-5, 7-2 Big East) for the second time this season tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Morgantown, W.Va. It will be a chance for Nwagbo to help Syracuse (6-13, 3-6 Big East) solidify its position for a Big East tournament bid and show how well she’s playing in her first season back.

‘I knew I was going to be able to help my team,’ Nwagbo said. ‘I just didn’t know how. I didn’t think I was going to be playing awful, but I definitely felt like I was going to be able to contribute to my team.’

Nwagbo has had many nights to remember and, likewise, many to forget. She’s eclipsed career highs in points and rebounds on multiple occasions, but there’s also been nights like Wednesday against Rutgers when she has struggled, garnering two points and three rebounds while committing six turnovers.

Wednesday night’s trip to New Brunswick, N.J. to play Rutgers was also an emotional step for Nwagbo. The Big East tournament was held at Louis Brown Arena the same year Nwagbo injured her knee, and this week’s game marked the first time that Nwagbo has stepped onto that court since.

Before the game, several Orangewomen joked with Nwagbo, going to the spot of the injury and saying, ‘Remember this, remember this?’

Of course, she couldn’t help but remember it.

‘It definitely brought back some memories,’ Nwagbo said. ‘But no memories of being cautious of my knee.’

Said point guard Julie McBride: ‘I know she had to work really hard, and she’s still working hard on it. Anybody who goes through it knows it, and she can tell you best. I really can’t tell you how she feels because I didn’t go through that, and I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.’

This season Nwagbo is averaging 8.9 points and 6.7 rebounds. Since the start of conference play, though, Nwagbo has played much better, averaging 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Still, she’s not the same player she once was. Nwagbo started 16 games her sophomore season and averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. She quickly became a consistent player whom Syracuse could depend on.

Now, her quickness is all but gone, and she doesn’t have the same spring in her legs. Nwagbo’s been forced to use more of her strength down low to score and out-muscle opposing players for rebounds.

‘I see glimpses of the way she used to be,’ McBride said. ‘I think we all know that she’s not 100 percent the way she could play. People haven’t seen Chineze. I’ve seen Chineze play. I played with her for two years and she was awesome.’

Nwagbo’s play has still caught the attention of others. Opponents are consistently double-teaming her and recognizing her as a viable threat underneath the basket. Now it’s a matter of overcoming those tactics, or finding an open teammate.

But Nwagbo, whom her teammates refer to as an unselfish player, said she’d much rather pass to the open player.

‘They double-team me and open up the floor for a variety of things to happen,’ Nwagbo said. ‘I don’t have any problem with that. As long as I get my teammates involved in plays, it’s great. If I can get the ball into somebody else’s hands, I feel like I’m getting everybody else involved.’

Published on February 5, 2004 at 12:00 pm