BENGUELA (Angola) - Nigeria found themselves in trouble against Cape Verde in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers opener.

The powerhouses received a major spark from an unusual source - namely the youngest player on the team, Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso. It ended up not being enough, but Nigeria may have seen a huge part of their future.

Nigeria trailed 47-38 with 6:02 minutes left in the third quarter when head coach Julius Nwosu brought on Onyenso, who had played the final 61 seconds of the first half and collected two rebounds and missed a three-pointer.

But not even Nwosu could have really expected the youngster do what he did.

Onyenso, who only turned 17 years old on September 25, blocked Keven Gomes' shot on Cape Verde's second possession with him on the court.

The 7-footer Onyenso later threw down a dunk to make it 49-46 and a couple of possessions later hammered home another dunk to put Nigeria ahead 50-49.

After missing a jumper the next time down the court, Onyenso grabbed an offensive rebound from a Ben Uzoh miss and passed to Ike Diogu and the veteran drained a three-pointer to make it 53-49.

Onyenso played the rest of the third quarter and then with Nigeria up 59-56 turned the ball over 3 minutes into the fourth quarter. Tarekeyi Edogi committed an unsportsmanlike foul right after the turnover and Cape Verde picked up two free throws and a dunk to reclaim the lead - sending Onyenso back to the bench for the rest of the game, which ended in a 79-71 loss.

All told, Onyenso picked up 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in 10:33 minutes. His +/- for the game was 8, making him the only Nigerian player with a positive stat in that category.

Ike Diogu

Onyenso is getting a great chance to be around the 38-year-old Diogu, who has been playing for the national team since 2012. It would have almost been more fitting if Diogu had assisted on a three-pointer to Onyenso - sort of a passing of the torch.

Onyenso is not an unknown in Africa, having played for the last couple of years at the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal. This past summer he played in the United States on the AAU high school level circuit for the Team New England/The New York Jayhawks in addition to playing some exhibition with the NBA Academy Africa in the U.S. And he received a lot of attention.

Onyenso’s AAU head coach Isaiah Davis had a pretty lofty comparison for the 2004-born talent.

"He's like a baby Giannis," Davis was quoted on 247sports.com, referring to the NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has Nigerian heritage though he plays for Greece. "He's different; he's not your typical 7-footer. The glaring part to his game is his skill but what also stands out is his adjustment to the speed of how they play over here in America compared to in Africa. It only took him a few weeks … I knew he was special."

Even though Onyenso, who is wearing No. 34 for Nigeria in the Qualifiers, will only be starting his sophomore year in high school, some big U.S. colleges are already looking to lock up his services. Providence, Georgetown, Texas Tech, Washington State, Clemson and Seton Hall have all already offered him a scholarship.

Right now, Onyenso is concentrated on helping Nigeria get back to the FIBA Basketball World Cup - and get back on track in the African Qualifiers. One thing is certain, the youngster showed he can provide a major spark - even if it might not be expected.

FIBA