By Jim Hague
When Eni Fageyinbo meets someone for the very first time in an introduction and they ask her name, the Rutgers-Newark standout women’s basketball player has to phonetically sound it out, syllable by syllable.
“I break it down slowly, so they can understand me,” said the senior forward, whose name is pronounced N-E FOG-EE-EN-BO. “It’s surprising, but most people do a better job after I repeat it a few times. Eventually, they get it.”
During her fine career at R-N, Fageyinbo has certainly made a name for herself, no matter how it’s pronounced. She’s been one of the main reasons why the Scarlet Raiders have emerged from a perennial New Jersey Athletic Conference doormat to a three-time NJAC semifinalist, with appearances each year in the ECAC Metro Tournament.
When Fageyinbo was a senior at Parsippany Hills High School in Morris County three years ago, she had a decision to make to either attend LaSalle University in Philadelphia or Rutgers-Newark.
“I was all set to go to LaSalle on a scholarship,” said Fageyinbo, who was a fine player at Parsippany Hills, helping to turn that program around and actually make it to the Group III state finals her senior year. “But some things are meant to happen.”
The coaching staff at LaSalle was replaced in the middle of the recruiting process.
“I only had two choices, between LaSalle and Rutgers,” Fageyinbo said. “Since my father went to Rutgers and he wanted me to go there, I decided to go. But at first, I said I was only going for one semester, then transferring to LaSalle.”
Rutgers-Newark coach Kevin Morris was just pleased to get a player of Eni’s talents to come to the school.
“I remember what sold me on Eni,” Morris said. “She played against Shabazz in the state tournament (in the Group III state semifinals) and played against (current Rutgers University standout) Matee Ajavon,” Morris said. “And Eni handled her own against Matee, who was clearly the best player in the state and should have been a High School All-American. Eni didn’t get devastated against Ajavon and that’s when I knew that she could play for us. Eni was going to be one of the players to move our program forward.”
When Fageyinbo enrolled at R-N, it was going to be for one semester. It’s turned out to be for four years.
“I came here and wound up loving it,” Fageyinbo said.
So much so that she encouraged her younger sister, Bimpe, to transfer to R-N last year, after one year at the County College of Morris.
“She follows me wherever I go,” Eni Fageyinbo laughed.
Morris calls the elder Fageyinbo as “our most complete player.”
“She really can do it all,” Morris said. “She has good speed, good size and good strength. She can play any position. She can hit jump shots and go get rebounds. She’s a very good athlete who just happens to play basketball. When she’s healthy, she can be a dominant player.”
As a freshman, Fageyinbo was named the R-N Female Rookie Athlete of the Year, leading the Scarlet Raiders to their first women’s basketball winning season since 1996, leading the team in scoring (11.8 points) and steals (3.3) per contest.
“She often was a dominant player when she was a freshman,” Morris said.
“That’s when we really started improving,” Fageyinbo said.
Fageyinbo was also the team’s leading scorer during her sophomore season, averaging 10.2 points per contest. She also averaged nearly six rebounds and three assists per game, leading the Scarlet Raiders to a 15-12 record and the ECAC post-season berth.
However, injuries took their toll on Fageyinbo’s junior season with the Scarlet-Raiders.
“I had a bad ankle and some bone bruises,” Fageyinbo said. “The only way for them to heal properly is to rest and you can’t do that during the basketball season. So I tried to rest a little and still play when the team needed me. It was extremely frustrating, because I don’t like sitting around when I know I can do something. I felt absolutely awful not being able to contribute.”
Fageyinbo averaged just 6.1 points and four rebounds per game in 22 appearances, starting just five times. She clearly was not the same player she was for the first two seasons with the Scarlet Raiders, but the team did post a 16-11 record and made another appearance in the ECAC Metro tourney.
Now, as the Scarlet Raiders prepare to start another season with the annual John Adams Tip-Off Classic this weekend, facing Briarcliffe in the first round, Fageyinbo is healthy and ready to have a spectacular senior season.
“She’s that again, the same type of player she was as a freshman,” Morris said. “It’s so great to see. I just hope she can maintain that.”
“I’m extremely excited,” Fageyinbo said. “I’ve put everything else on the backburner. Trying to win this year is motivating me and taking away any pain. I think we have the chance to do something great this year. It’s a good feeling that people are finally respecting us. I always thought that our program was somewhat underrated, but now, we’re gaining the respect and taking on the challenges. I’m ready for whatever the coaches want from me, use me to start, to finish, play in the middle, anything. I just want to win this time. I think we’re all on the same page.
Added Fageyinbo, “I’m also extremely excited to be healthy. I just hope it stays that way. If I can’t, then we have my sister, who has almost the same exact style. It’s like having two of us. People have thought we were twins, ever since high school.”
Morris likes what the elder Fageyinbo brings to the table.
“Eni is a quiet, calming influence on the floor,” Morris said. “She doesn’t get rattled and is mature and experienced. She doesn’t panic. It’s nice to have her healthy and on the floor when we’ll have important times. Since she’s always calm, having that element out there is important. Eni’s also a confident player and confident in the way she does things.
Added Morris, “She’s also a very coachable player who is willing to play hard and makes everyone else become more coachable in the process. We’re going to need a big year from Eni, much like we’re going to need all our kids to do well. But Eni’s going to be one of the people we need consistent excellence from.”
Fageyinbo is a double major at R-N, majoring in both psychology and sociology. It means a tough grind, juggling two majors and a grueling academic schedule along with the athletics.
“It’s not easy and this is probably my hardest semester, but I’m somehow getting my best grades,” said Fageyinbo, who plans on getting a Master’s degree in social work with the ultimate goal being a trip to law school. “Either I’ll become a lawyer or a child psychologist, but I’ll be doing something I like.”
Fageyinbo, whose parents were born in Nigeria, was born in Parsippany and was instilled with the values of receiving a quality education from her parents.
“It’s very important to me,” she said. “I take both academics and athletics seriously.”
There is one thing that still amazes Fageyinbo.
“I can’t comprehend that I’m a senior already,” she said. “It’s gone by so fast. I was talking to (teammate) Sabrina (Sanchez) the other day and I remember going to the same dorm as freshmen like it was yesterday. It’s mind boggling how fast it went.”
The senior season will fly by as well, especially if the Scarlet Raiders win as expected, with a finally healthy Eni Fageyinbo returning to her full glory.
