About six years ago, St. Cloud girls’ basketball coach Chad Ansbaugh noticed a young girl shooting free throws outside the Bulldogs’ gym on several occasions on his way to run his summer program. Intrigued, he eventually stopped by to say hello and ask the shy girl if she wanted to come inside and join the team.
Little did Ansbaugh know at the time that the tall, but unpolished player named Eno Inyang would become the St. Cloud Lady Bulldogs second-leading scorer all time and develop into a talented enough player to earn a Division I college scholarship to Clemson.
Inyang, who was the Osceola News Gazette’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year, now adds Osceola News Gazette Female Athlete of the Year honors for 2020-21 school year.
“She was really quiet and timid when I met her,” Ansbaugh said. “She was bigger than most kids her age and she was always afraid of hurting the other players. It took some time for her to understand contact was part of the game. But she kept getting better and better every year.
“Without question, she is highly deserving of that honor. We played some really good teams last season and Eno was always the best player of the floor. What is really going to be fun to watch is I truly believe she has not even come close to reaching her potential.”
Inyang finished her senior season leading St. Cloud in points per game (20.3) and rebounds per game (9.9), field goal percentage (62 percent) and free throw percentage (74). She led the Bulldogs to a 15-7 overall record, a district championship and appearance in the Class 6A Region 2 semifinals, during a season made quirky and challenging by the pandemic.
She scored 20 or more points 11 times, including season highs of 39 points against Seffner Christian, 35 against Lake Howell in the playoffs, 29 against Windermere and 28 against Gateway. She also came up big in the biggest games, averaging more than 25 points a game in four post-season games.
In school’s final home game, she became just the second Lady Bulldog in history to eclipse 2,000 career points, following St. Cloud legend Dana Smith, who wrapped up a career with 3,469 points in 1994.
Ansbaugh said the feat could have come a lot earlier in her career.
“Without question, she is one of the most unselfish team players we have ever had,” he said. “Her biggest concern has always been team first and working inside our system to win. If she were more ball centric, she would have easily averaged 30 or more a game.”
But dominance on the basketball court was not her only athletic feat. She played three years of varsity volleyball where she was a standout on that team before deciding to forego her senior season to concentrate on basketball.
“It was a tough decision as I loved playing volleyball and loved my teammates but I knew my college future would be in basketball, and with Covid also being a concern I decided to just use that time to get ready for my senior basketball season,” Inyang said.
Inyang excelled in another sport. Following the basketball season, she participated in track and field where she dominated district competition by winning championships in the discus, shot put and javelin throw. She would go on to place second in regionals in both the shot and discus –before eventually placing 10th in the shot.
Inyang had praise for her parents, coaches and teammates for the honor.
“My dad always supported me and pushed me to be my best. Coach Ansbaugh taught me the importance of teamwork and respect and the atmosphere at St. Cloud has always been great,” she said. “We’re a family at St. Cloud, and this recognition is something I would want to share with my teammates.”
Inyang has set a lofty goal of starting her freshman and year and compete for ACC Freshman of the Year Award at Clemson. It’s a goal Ansbaugh does not believe is out of reach.
“Whether she ends up being a center or forward, she has some of the best hands I have ever seen,” the coach said. “For as good as she was in high school, she is still a very raw talent. She played her biggest games against the tougher competition in high school and I think you will see that same improvement as she plays at the next level.”
