HOUSTON – Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike dominated the basketball court as Cy-Fair students. Nneka graduated in 2008 and Chiney two years after. Both attended Stanford and became, other than Peyton and Eli Manning, the only siblings to be drafted at #1 overall in the four major U.S. Sports. This weekend, Cy-Fair retired #13 and #30 in honor of the two older Ogwumike sisters.
“It really is surreal,” said Chiney, a current ESPN analyst and L.A. Sparks Power Forward. “You think about your jersey getting retired and it’s one of those things as kids, you’re like, ‘I want to get my jersey retired, I want to be that type of player.’ But you realize it’s not even about the jersey, it’s about the people.”
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And people showed up.
All of Nneka’s math teachers, their high school coaches, and several former teammates. The jersey retirement ceremony took place before Cy-Fair took on Cy-Falls.
Who coaches Cy Falls? Ursula Hill, who played with the Ogumikes back in the day.
“This is a special day for them, they deserve it all,” said Hill. “They weren’t just good players, they were some of the best teammates I ever had.”
As Nneka and Chiney spoke in Cy-Fair’s gym, their parents looked proud. Their former coaches cried, the gym was packed with people wearing shirts honoring the sisters, and little girls watched wide-eyed.
But as special as the jersey retirement was, it wasn’t the best moment of the weekend. The highlight was when their mother, Ify Ogwumike, earned her PhD.
“I know they’re very proud of me, I am very proud of them,” said Dr. Ify Ogwumike. “I’ve been so grateful for their support and my husband’s support through the process, so I think it’s a family degree.”
The matriarch of the family currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent for Student Services in the Cy-Fair school district. She kept busy raising four daughters, but made time to finish what she wanted to achieve.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. She’s the kind of woman who is hard working, and a strong woman. Seeing our daughters turn out the way they have, I’m not surprised,” said Peter Ogwumike. “They take after her.”
The two younger Ogwumike sisters, Erica and Olivia, had standout careers as well. Erica is in her final year on the Rice basketball team, and scored 25 points with her sisters in the stands this weekend; which, as their parents noted, was the first time in over six years that all their girls were together for more than 2 days at Christmas.
All four sisters have excelled academically, and are family-focused. It’s clear their mother set the tone.
“It’s a big weekend, and maybe it’s even bigger for her,” said Chiney. “She’s been everything to us.”