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Pitt rewards former walk-on guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo with a scholarship | TribLIVE.com
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Pitt rewards former walk-on guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo with a scholarship

Jerry DiPaola
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Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim (left) drives on Pitt guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo during Tuesday’s game at the Carrier Dome.

Onyebuchi Ezeakudo can omit the adjective walk-on from in front of his name. Ezeakudo, a 6-foot-1 senior point guard, was rewarded Thursday by Pitt coach Jeff Capel with a scholarship for the winter semester.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Ezeakudo has been with the Panthers for four seasons as a walk-on, turning down scholarship opportunities at other schools to play basketball in the ACC and pursue a degree in bioengineering.

He has been called upon more often this season after the loss of guards Nike Sibande (injury) and Ithiel Horton (suspension).

While appearing in 16 games with three starts this season, he is averaging a career-high 16.9 minutes per game. He has connected on eight 3-pointers, tied for fifth on the team with sophomore William Jeffress. He has scored a total of 30 points with 20 assists and nine steals. He also is fifth among his teammates in the latter two categories.

Ezeakudo was a two-year starter at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne and earned all-state honors from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.

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