Aniefiok adjusting to life both on and off the court

Freshman guard Maurice Aniefiok is a long way from home. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Aniefiok played soccer growing up before ever picking up a basketball. From that day on, though, Aniefiok knew basketball was his ticket in life. He soon realized, however, that he needed to come to America to take his skills to the next level.

“Two years after I started playing basketball, I realized basketball could really take me far,” Aniefiok said. “I told myself that if basketball was going to be something that I wanted to do, to play college basketball and then maybe play overseas or in the NBA or somewhere just anywhere basketball can take me, then I needed to come to America. I told myself if I really want to take my game to the next level, this is what I needed to do.”

Aniefiok came to America and played his senior season for Huntington Prep in West Virginia. Aniefiok averaged 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, while shooting 41 percent from behind the 3-point line. His team finished the season with a 24-3 record and finished as high as 14th in the nation by one publication. Aniefiok said that leaving his home in Nigeria and adjusting to the game in America has been tough but says that it continuously gets easier with the more experience he sees.

“It has been a little tough,” he said. “It’s reality. This is where I am now. I don’t want to be dazed by it anymore. I just want to be focused on what I have to do, what I am here for and just do it. Playing basketball in America and Mississippi is completely different from what I thought it was going to be. It is faster, the players are very athletic and, technical-wise, it is very advanced. But that’s the reason I went through so much practice to help me adjust to everything before the games started kicking in.

“Now I feel very good. After each game, I feel really good and really comfortable about approaching the next game, so I am not dazed by it anymore.”

Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy praised Aniefiok’s adjustment to the college game, as well as his attitude and effort during the offseason and so far this season.

“I think first and foremost, him understanding that is a huge step,” Kennedy said of the adjustment. “His attitude is great. Day in and day out, like all of our freshmen, he wants to learn, wants to get better and gives us the necessary effort. That is one area we have not had to coach with this group: effort.”

Aniefiok says that adjusting to the style of basketball in America wasn’t the only thing he had to get adjusted to. He said he is constantly learning new things about his new home.

“Waking up everyday you learn,” he said. “Going out and seeing things, it’s a continuous process. It’s a continuous learning process. It is not something you can just wake up one morning and say, ‘OK I think I am done learning it.’ I just keep learning and seeing new things about way of life here. For me, I think I have a little bit of what I need to know and now I just need to keep moving ahead. I don’t want to be surprised by anything again. It is time to face business and take care of business now.”

While Aniefiok struggled shooting early in his first season as a Rebel, knocking down just 3-of-15 three-point attempts, he said he’s not thinking about it and just going out and concentrating on the things he can control to help the team.

“(Kennedy) tells me to not to think about it,” he said. “He has been a ballplayer himself, so he knows these things happen. He tells me I can’t think about it and move on to something else. There is a reason I am in the game. You are not just a player limited to shooting. You can also do something else, so that is what I have been focusing on. As long as we get a win, I don’t care if I drop 30 points. As long as we get a win and I can create things for my teammates, I am good with that.”