NORFOLK, Va. — NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — It's hard for Mike Jones to think of who Imo Essien hasn't impacted in the Old Dominion basketball program.
"He's been a mentor to everybody. He's been a mentor to me," Jones said. "He's been grandpa to our locker room and he's been just a great voice for me."
"He said that? Wow, I'm honored," Essien said with a grin. "I've known him for literally less than a year, met him in March. For him to say that and the impact he's had on me as a young man, that's great to hear."
Those tributes were paid to the point guard throughout ODU's Senior Night festivities on Saturday evening. What is usually an emotional game became even more sentimental when Essien was announced as a starter for the first time this season.
It's a moment that's been in the making for half a year. In November, ahead of the Monarchs' first game of the season, Essien announced he would miss the entire season due to what he termed was a "recurring medical scare." He went through an incident that was similar to one that caused him to collapse during a game in 2023 at Georgia Southern.
After leaving the opportunity open to find a way back on the floor, the Texas native deciding in the last month to move forward with no longer playing again even with one more year of eligibility.
"Going through that for a while, it was tough in the beginning," Essien said. "Having to be honest with yourself, and say you're not okay and that maybe you need to find something else."
"To work all summer long...and then get to the first day of practice and it just gets snatched, I feel for that young man," Jones said.
Fortunately, the silver and blue head coach was already working on a way to make sure Essien got one more moment in a Monarch uniform.
"I said, 'What if we were able to honor you in some way,'" Jones remembered. "He said, 'Oh that would be cool.' And it kind of took off from there."
During the pregame ceremony, Essien stood alongside teammates R.J. Blakney and Sean Durugordon for their Senior Night. Moments later, the point guard trotted out as a member of the starting five for the first time since March of 2024.
"To have this put on pause and you just have to come to grips with this, then to have one last time to feel that spark again," Essien said. "It was definitely overwhelming for sure."
"Unbelievable. You talk about a consistent fanbase and community like this, a university that cares about you as a person."
He logged five seconds, ODU allowing Georgia State to win the tip and let Essien foul quickly to sub him out of the game. As the whistle blew, a crowded Chartway Arena gave him an ovation that lasted nearly a minute.
As he walked off the floor, Essien and Jones shared an emotional embrace with tears in their eyes.
"We shared that moment not as player and coach but as people who know what that feels like," Essien said. "It was special for us."
It's one of the few times the senior allowed his emotions to truly show, urging fans throughout his journey with his health that this was not something to get down about.
"I've gotten so much support. I'm grateful, I'm thankful to be here," he said. "It's not sad at all."
That's what he plans on telling the next generation of basketball players too. Essien has had to coaching opportunities brought up in his future, a way to stay around the game he loves.
Wherever that next stop is, the point guard saying the ODU fans are like another family for him. After remaining positive through plenty of adversity in his time in the silver and blue, Essien getting a chance to have that payed back to him.
"Imo is a Monarch. To allow him to get that one last ovation in a uniform, on a court, in a game," Jones said. "The emotions that comes with that, he deserves it."
"To know I can give myself a pat on the back for leaving an impact," Essien said. "Or having experiences with this community that will last forever with them, that means the world to me."
