2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Transfer Portal: Chet Nweke Will Make an Impact

March Madness is in full swing, entering the second round today, but the seeds are already being sowed for the coming season as well. The Transfer Portal is wide open, an innumerable amount of players entering their names and opening the door for new possibilities.

There are numerous high profile players, leading scorers, and heralded recruits that are onto new waters, but Princeton forward Chet Nweke keeps popping to me as a player who could really make an impact at her next stop.

It's worth noting that the Ivy League typically does not allow graduate athletes an extra year of play, hence why we've seen the Ivy have some of the most notable sought after transfer portal players in recent years.

The Tigers' year unfortunately came to an end against West Virginia in the first round, but I'd argue that makes it more pertinent to highlight Nweke's play.

Nweke's numbers aren't gaudy by any stretch of the imagination, but we saw a huge jump in productivity from her as she entered the starting lineup midway through Ivy League play.

So much about playing in Princeton, and particularly for Princeton, is making the right decisions and reads. They play one of the very slowest paces of play in the country, work the paint, attack with cutting, and there is little deviation from that style. It works incredibly well for the Tigers, but it's a key note.

Nweke is a bit of a tweener, not really a big, but excelling at the things a lot of teams will ask out of a big offensively. She can roll, she can attack the basket off the dribble, she's a hellacious offensive rebounder. My favorite aspect of her game is her screening and ability to play as a hub of the offense.

You're not going to run your entire offense through her, but she's a heady decision-maker. When you tie in adept solid screening, craft in how she moves and grifts screens to open up shooters/drivers, and how careful she is with the ball, it's impactful and something you can bake into an offense.

She makes quick reads and plays within herself, which again, is key in getting to most out of her role. She screens, hands off, rolls, re-screens, dives, attacks the block, and is a non-stop worker in those facets.

Nweke finished the season with a 14.1% offensive rebound rate per CBB Analytics, which was similar to Rita Igbokwe (14.5%) and Ashlyn Watkins (14.9%).

An important note: Princeton was in general this season, a fairly middling three-point shooting team. That's not their bread and butter, nor is the pick and roll game. There is more on the table for Nweke in a system that spaces differently with personnel better suited for a spread offense.

She can post smalls on duck-ins, run in transition (another aspect we could see emphasized more), and is a strong finisher off of two feet in the paint.

While they're not the same players, or completely similar in profile, what Kaitlyn Davis has done for USC this season as a decision-making hub and screener is somewhat of an analog for what I feel Nweke could provide in the right setting.

It's not an easy role to thrive in at the highest level, but Nweke's defensive versatility and consistency makes her a player I would invest in highly.

Nweke has long arms with active hands, and a very strong frame that allows her to play up positions, especially defending in the post at times. She slides her feet incredibly well for her stature, and using her length in tandem with her footwork, she can keep smaller players in front. She's not a defender that will be able to fully lockdown a point guard in the middle of the floor (few can!), but she buys time, and with good help behind and around her, she could be a significant part of a high level defense.

She's not going to get dusted off one dribble, buying precious seconds with her effort and ability.

Especially in a scheme that ices and blitzes often, I think she could be unlocked.

Nweke is much more of a forward than a big on defense, which is both part of the appeal she brings and part of the process of figuring out how she fits. I think in the most ideal world, Nweke plays alongside a 5 who can stretch the floor a bit so there can still be some role reversal with things. 

Does she fully end up as a starter at a Power 5? It's possible, but depends on the team.

I'm extremely confident that she's going to be able to make a positive impact on the floor wherever she winds up, and a smart team will make sure she doesn't slip under the radar.