Introducing 2022 forward 'Frizzy' Fray Nguimbi
Unlike most players from Africa Fray Nguimbi started playing basketball very early – when he was six years old. He first came to the U.S. from the Republic of Congo when he was 13 and now the 6-foot-7, 190-pound West Oaks Academy power forward is getting the attention of Division I recruiters who have taken notice of his improvement.
Nguimbi currently holds offers from Alabama, Iowa State, Arkansas Little-Rock, Louisiana-Monroe, USF, Southeastern Louisiana and Stetson.
“Last year I was on the bench,” Nguimbi said of his freshman season. “I didn’t really know what was going on here. I was watching and learning but this year I felt more comfortable on the court. This year I led West Oaks in double-doubles.”
Despite being one of the younger players on his team Nguimbi has a penchant for having strong performances when the lights are brightest. This season he held five-star senior Isaiah Todd – who recently decided to skip college and take part in the NBA’s new one-year professional pathway program – to just eight points and three rebounds.
In a West Oaks Academy win at Oak Hill Academy Nguimbi just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. By the way, that was the first home loss Oak Hill Academy suffered in more than 360 consecutive home games.
Ironically, Nguimbi credits a game against Oak Hill Academy during his freshman season for giving him more confidence.
“When we played Oak Hill it was my first big game,” said Nguimbi. “I did really good [sic] that game. I went against Kofi (Cockburn). That was my first tough game. That’s when I started to improve my game more and more.”
In that game Cockburn outweighed Nguimbi by almost 90-pounds. Oh, and Cockburn went on to Illinois and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year this season.
If a global pandemic had not disrupted everything, Nguimbi and his Showtime Ballers teammates would have played the past two weekends in grassroots events during the important April live evaluation period. Nguimbi would have had the opportunity to shine in front of some college coaches not currently recruiting him.
When we asked Nguimbi what he feels he does best on the basketball court he did not hesitate with his answer.
“I play defense,” he said matter of factly. “I dunk the ball all the time. I can handle, shoot the ball and attack the rim. I’m working on my body. When I came here I was kind of skinny. So, I’ve been working on my body, my shot and my handle. I feel like I can do more. I’ve just got to keep working and improve myself.”
WHY I LIKE HIM
Every team needs a player like Nguimbi. He runs the floor very well, he uses a pretty good first step to attack the defense off the bounce from the perimeter to provide interior scoring and will finish above the rim. While his jumper isn’t his biggest strength, defenders cannot give him “dare” jump shots. Nguimbi is also a volume rebounder who will to after and slam home missed shots by his teammates.