by Chamberlain Zulauf
If readers have seen Efosa around campus, they’d also recognize him as number 10 on the basketball court, where he plays guard for the Maroons. In fact, his and the men’s basketball team’s first game of the season is this very Friday, the 11th. The game will be in Ohio so there is a bit of a drive, but it should be the start to a great season!
The basketball season is a very involved endeavor, but Efosa is enjoying his time playing for Roanoke. Originally from the charlotte, NC area— specifically, Waxhaw, Efosa will be back just in time to get some family time in,
“We have a tournament right before Thanksgiving, but we’ll get back home the Tuesday before. So, I’ll just be spending my time at home with my family. I’m looking forward to that,” said Efosa.
In regard to how he feels about the upcoming season as a whole, Efosa had this to say…
“I think I think we’re gonna do very well because we only lost Nick Price, who was a senior last year. He’s the only person who’s not coming back from last year. We have a lot of depth and since we were good last year I feel like if we keep making the strides that we’re making we could be very good! We’re a group of guys with a lot of experience I’d say.
As a team we go through a lot of adversity, whether it’s conditioning tests or just the intensity of practices and the season itself. I feel like that brings us together because we go through it all as a team, picking each other up along the way.
[The team] is like a second family, we all spend time with each other on and off the court. You could think some of us are actually related because of how we were always together,” said Efosa.
Any athlete knows the benefits of goal setting and the importance of setting the right ones. Like as being part of a family, Efosa takes on a team-oriented approach,
“Personally, I don’t like to focus on individual goals. I just like to focus on how I’m helping my team win. I think realistically that we could win the ODAC and then hopefully make a run in the NCAA tournament,” said Efosa.
His favorite memory, so far, of being on the basketball team has been beating Marietta at a home tournament last year. At the time Mariette was ranked third in the country, making it a huge win for the Maroons.
“Hopefully we can make more, even greater moments this year!” said Efosa.
Outside of basketball Efosa does club sports, with, of course, his basketball teammates. Recently, in fact, the men’s basketball team won an intramural tag football championship, little to this interviewer’s surprise.
“Our coaches did have some concerns with us doing sports outside of basketball at first, but we were just so adamant about it, because really we just wanted the T-shirts, like… Club sports can get pretty serious for sure though,” said Efosa.
Outside of basketball, Efosa’s overall best memory here at ‘Noke has been alumni weekend. Seeing graduated teammates is heartwarming for Efosa— especially seeing people like Caleb Jordan, an upperclassman who took Efosa under their wing and guided him through his early years at “Noke.
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After graduating in the spring Efosa will take a little time off to rest and relax, afterwards planning to get into med school. A dream job for Efosa would see him as a team physician, traveling with a team and continuing to be in the world of athletics, using his public health major and sociology minor.
Given an opportunity to give fellow Maroons a piece of advice, Efosa stressed the importance of, “Getting into a routine because in college you’re gonna enjoy yourself naturally. But you also have to have that balance of social life and schoolwork and maybe athletics— whatever it all is. You have to find that balance where your days are productive, but also, you’re enjoying yourself because this is the time for both!”
