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2021 Pirate Player Preview: Femi Funeus

Date: September 24, 2021

By: Joe Matthews

Seton Hall women's basketball's Femi Funeus plays defense during a game.

Seton Hall Athletics

In an offseason that has been a flurry for this Seton Hall Pirates women’s basketball team, there’s been a number of new faces and familiar names to talk up for next season. But there’s one player sitting on the Pirates’ roster who has gone a bit under the radar, when she absolutely should not have. 

Femi Funeus.

The 6-foot-2 senior will be entering her fourth season as a Pirate, and while her career has had its fair share of challenges so far, this season will be her time to shine in South Orange, N.J.

Seton Hall women's basketball's Femi Funeus stands on the sideline with Coach Bozzella.

Seton Hall Athletics

Funeus burst onto the scene during her freshman year at Seton Hall. She posted upwards of 7.0 points-per-game and 4 rebounds-per-game in just 16 minutes of action per game during the 2018-19 season.

But when I say she burst onto the scene, I mean she really made a name for herself right away. Within her first week as a Pirate, she was named Big East Freshman of the Week after a stretch of games that included a career-high 21 points against Kennesaw State. That was her third collegiate game, so mic drop.

Unfortunately for Funeus, her stellar freshman campaign was cut short just 11 games in due to a torn Achilles. After recovering, she was able to make a comeback in the 2019-20 season, playing in 18 contests.

Considering it was her first season off of a major injury, she didn’t get the biggest workload, only seeing around seven minutes-per-night. However, she still made a monumental impact, even scoring 10 points in just 10 minutes in her first game back from the injury.

After a nice rebound year in 2019-2020, Funeus was looking to finally string together a full season this past year. But the injury bug came back again, and the Pirates lost Funeus just two games into the campaign with another leg injury.

This year, we should see the freshman standout make another outstanding comeback. Pirates fans have already seen the determination from Funeus, coming back to play a full second half after an absolutely devastating Achilles’ tear. There’s no question she should be able to do the same this season. 

When we finally see her back on the court in Walsh Gymnasium, we’ll be seeing a player who can do big things for this Pirates squad. When she’s on the court, Funeus is a double-double machine. No questions asked. She was an absolute force in high school, averaging 21 points-per-game and 15 rebounds-per-game her senior year. These are video game numbers. 

What did she do in that stellar but far too short freshman season at the Hall? She obviously put up the aforementioned 21-point performance, but she also notched a 13-point 13-rebound game in her Pirates debut against Jefferson. 

Funeus is just an absolute force down in the paint, and this Pirates team is going to be looking for some big-time help down low. Obviously one of the main storylines from this offseason that’s been said time and time again is the loss of Desiree Elmore.

The Pirates have made some moves to address the hole she leaves on this roster. With the additions of transfers such as Sidney Cooks and Ariel Cummings, they’ll certainly be able to make up for Elmore’s departure, but the best replacement may already be in house for the Pirates.

Seton Hall women's basketball's Femi Funeus tries to score inside the paint during a home game.

Seton Hall Athletics

The talent that this Seton Hall roster has is simply ridiculous. But just because we haven’t seen her much recently make you forget who Funeus is. She can certainly make a case for being the most talented player on this roster.

It’s been a bit of a rough road for Funeus and her Seton Hall career so far. But pressure makes diamonds. And this season, Funeus is going to be shining brighter than any diamond on Earth. 

Joe Matthews is an Assistant Sports Director for WSOU Sports and can be reached at joseph.matthews@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Women's Basketball, Sports, WSOU

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