Abel Ugwu once told his young son, "Man is not born great, but grows great."

Well, standing 6-feet-5 and weighing in at 297 pounds, and recently becoming the UA indoor school record holder in the shot put, junior Chima Ugwu is well on his way to being great.

Ugwu, a native of Enugu, Nigeria, and the oldest of eight children, tries to live his life by that simple phrase his dad told him long ago. Sadly, Abel has not seen his son's success. He died in a car accident in 1992.

"I thank my dad very much, because he gave me everything a father should give his son," Ugwu said. "He was always encouraging me, pushing me, even when times were rough."

Ugwu, 22, was born in the same town as former Kansas City Chief running back Christian Okoye, and calls Okoye his mentor because just like Okoye, Ugwu throws the shot put and discus and plans to play football in the fall.

While Okoye was attending Azusa Pacific University in California, he was a roommate and teammate of UA assistant track coach Mike Maynard. Over the years, Maynard and Okoye have remained good friends, and Okoye was the first to let Maynard know about Ugwu back in 1993.

Ugwu and Okoye have also kept a close relationship over the years, and it was Okoye who gave him advice about the United States and encouraged him to give Maynard a call.

While still in Nigeria, Okoye told him that if he threw 60 feet, he had a good shot at coming to the United States.

"I wasn't thinking about anything else except working hard, throwing 60 feet and coming here," Ugwu said.

In 1993, Ugwu signed his original letter of

intent to attend UA and compete in track and field, but due to political turmoil in Nigeria, Arizona was unable to get Ugwu's proper documentation and he was ineligible to compete in the NCAA.

So instead, Ugwu, a sociology major, attended Central Arizona Junior College in Coolidge last year, where he became the national junior college champion in the shot put and the runner-up in the discus.

This year, Ugwu has taken the NCAA track world by storm with a fourth-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8. On Feb. 23, he smashed the indoor school record with his throw of 61 feet, 4 inches.

Already in the outdoor season, Ugwu has met and exceeded NCAA automatic qualifying marks in the shot put and the discus. His season-bests so far are 64-4 1/2 in the shot put set on April 6, and a 196-10 effort in the discus set on March 23.

His goals this season are to throw 67 feet in the shot put and 215 feet in the discus and then return to his native Nigeria and qualify for a spot on their Olympic roster for the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

"He is by far and away the strongest person at the UA," Maynard said. Maynard added that Ugwu is a rare individual, because he has the great combination of being extremely talented and a hard worker.

An example of that great strength came last year at a competition at Central Arizona. He had fouled on all his previous attempts in the shot put, so on his final throw he resorted to standing still instead of his usual windup. He won the competition anyway.

"Chima adds a really nice element to our team. He is very easygoing, fun-loving, and he keeps everyone loose. It is a pleasure to have him on the team," UA head track and field coach Dave Murray said.

Ugwu was recently picked in the March edition of Track and Field News to win the NCAA outdoor championship in the shot put and finish fifth in the discus.

But Ugwu is accustomed to tense, pressure-packed situations. While in high school in Nigeria, Ugwu represented Nigeria in the World Cup and the All-Africa games.

Last fall, Ugwu redshirted for the UA football team and he plans to play this fall, probably competing for a spot on the defensive line at one of the tackle positions.

"Chima is a very gifted athlete, but we can better evaluate him when his track is over and he can focus on football full time," UA defensive line coach Marty Long said.

Maynard believes that Ugwu can be a force on defense once he learns the game, something Ugwu believes as well.

"Football and throwing are similar because in both you need speed, strength, and to be mentally focused to compete," Ugwu said. "Right now I am taking things one at a time, doing it the way God gives me the strength to do it."