by Aubrey Kragen
"At forward, a 6'11" sophomore from Lawndale, California: No. 4 Chimezie Metu!" booms the PA system at Galen Center before every men's basketball game.
But if you ask Metu where he's from, the answer isn't quite so simple.
The sophomore forward always takes the time to explain his background when prompted. Born on March 22, 1997 in Harbor City, CA, Metu moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of five with his father, brother and sister. After living there for six years, the family moved back and settled in Lawndale, CA, where Metu attended middle school and high school.
Metu's father, James, decided to take his children back to Nigeria as he pursued a business venture because he wanted them to understand their heritage and meet their extended family.
And meet their family they did.
Metu's father is one of 10 children, and his mother, Florence, is one of eight, so Metu had plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins to spend time with.
"For fun we'd play basketball, soccer, video games, watch TV," he said. "Just anything normal people would do."
But Metu acknowledged that Nigeria wasn't quite normal, compared to what he experienced each summer when he came back to America to visit his mom.
"There's a lot different," he explained. "The situation people are in - it's a lot more poverty-stricken. There's not always electricity. It's not the best place to live, but it's not as bad as people make it seem."
Despite the disparities, Metu is fiercely proud of his Nigerian heritage. The country's flag adorns the wall in his bedroom at USC, and he prominently features it on his social media profiles as well.
"Coming from a country that's kind of third-world and seeing how people lived, and knowing that I was fortunate enough to see that but not be stuck in that situation - I just embrace that and every day I go out and try to represent my country."
Nearly 8,000 miles away from the country in which he grew up, Metu has found a cohort of similarly prideful people at USC.
Trojan football wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe was inspired to come to USC from Suwanee, GA after seeing the success of Lagos-born wideout Nelson Agholor. Imatorbhebhe and his brother, Daniel, share Nigerian heritage with teammates Oluwole Betiku Jr., Chuma Edoga, Uchenna Nwosu and defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze. Ashleigh Plumptre of USC women's soccer and a number of other Trojans flaunt their Nigerian roots with pride and find comfort in each other at Troy.
"I feel like it's natural to gravitate towards each other," says Nwosu. "We grew up in the same type of households - strict parents and stuff like that. So I feel like I make an automatic connection when I meet those type of people and we can relate easier."
Indeed, there are striking similarities in Metu and Nwosu's upbringings. Metu's mother, along with both of Nwosu's parents, are registered nurses in Los Angeles, and they all have at least seven brothers and sisters, providing plenty of aunts and uncles to mentor their children. Church was a staple growing up, and that's actually where Metu and Nwosu met, when a mutual Nigerian friend introduced them back in high school. They also both noted that they were exposed to soccer - a much more popular sport in Nigeria - long before finding their passions in basketball and football.
Metu echoed Nwosu's claim that Nigerian parents can be strict, explaining that they do so to keep their children "on the right path to success," because they came to the United States with so little and want their kids to have so much.
This parenting method seems to be paying off. According to a 2014 book called "The Triple Package," the rate at which Nigerian Americans hold graduate or professional degrees (over 25 percent) and their average family income ($58,000 per year) are both much higher than the national average.
Metu seemed unsurprised by these figures.
"Nigerians always joke when you're growing up, you have three options: You can either be a lawyer, a doctor or an engineer," he explained. "It seems crazy but just having that mindset growing up, it's like I have to be successful in order to make it."
Metu has certainly had success so far, turning NBA scouts' heads as a mere sophomore. After potentially going pro, he wants to follow in his uncle's - and many other Nigerians' - footsteps to become a lawyer.
The lanky 19-year-old is on track to graduate in three years with a degree in Law, History and Culture. Nwosu was recently the belle of the ball at USC's student-athlete career fair, while Plumptre boasts a 3.71 GPA as a Human Biology major, with dreams of being a doctor.
This drive for excellence and these shared experiences bring Nigerian athletes together at Troy and encourage them to share their culture with others.
"It's just good to let people know how strong of a culture we are and how prideful we are for each other," said Nwosu. "How we have that relationship with our country and the love we have for it. We're representing and doing it in a good way, so letting people know where he come from, our background and the type of people we are."
Wherever these Trojans go in life, they'll always have each other's backs.
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