A Nigeria native, Stanley Eze came to America when he was just 15 years old. He has resided in Atlanta, GA for the past three and a half years, and originally came to America for a great education and basketball.

Eze said his country is very diverse. Ranging from about 250-500 ethnicities and different languages, all ethnicities are segregated into four main tribes. The four main tribes are Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and Fulani.

Eze said they also have very diverse languages. Two ethnicities from the same tribe can’t understand each other. However, they do have a general tribal language. In other words, if you’re from the Igbo tribe, you can understand the Igbo language but still have your own ethnic language.

“I can speak 3 languages: Igbo, English and Ezza,” Eze said. “Ezza is a slang dialect. This dialect came from Jewish descendants.” 

Eze has five siblings. Two of his older sisters are married, and his other siblings are teenagers except for his little sister, who is 10 years old.

His favorite Nigerian food is a Nigerian melon soup called Egusi soup. It consists of melon seeds, water, palm oil, vegetables, seasonings and meat.

While in Nigeria, Eze attended a boarding school called Saint Augustine Seminary. While there, he was a part of the basketball team, and discovered a love for the sport.

According to Eze, in Nigeria every state is separated into zones. For tournament games, every zone plays against each other. For example, the southeast zone would play against the northeast zone and come together for the championship game.

Eze also attended a basketball camp while he was in Nigeria. Scouts, like from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), would look for talented players there. These scouts came from all over the world, including where Eze has lived for the past three years, Atlanta, GA.

Eze received some offers from different high schools in the U.S., but chose Mount Bethel Christian Academy in Atlanta, GA.

He started as a sophomore and attended on a scholarship, and he liked his high school experience.

“It was a dream come true,” Eze said. “My whole dream was to go to a high school in America.”

Even though Eze chose FMU because he was offered a basketball scholarship, there were about five or six universities who were interested in him. However, after having a knee surgery, some universities pulled back.

“There’s a passion that comes with basketball, and FMU showed me so much more love than any other school,” Eze said.

Eze is a sports management major, but wants to add human resources.

“I want to be on the dean’s or president’s list,”Eze said. “I want to be successful in every field I go into which is now school and basketball.”