West Virginia’s men’s basketball program got a jumpstart on its 2023 recruiting class with last week’s commitment from James Okonkwo.
The 6-foot-9 Okonkwo hails from Maidenhead, England, but came to the United States last summer to play at Beckley Prep Academy.
Despite having limited basketball experience, Okonkwo’s ascension on the hardwood earned him interest from several Division I schools and ultimately a scholarship offer from Mountaineer head coach Bob Huggins.
“From the first time I talked to Huggs, he seemed like a very genuine person and in the basketball world, I’ve learned since coming here, it’s not guaranteed everywhere you go,” Okonkwo said as a guest on Statewide Sportsline. “So to hear he genuinely wants to help kids and genuinely wants to develop people to go on to whatever they want to do in life, that was probably the first reason I was interested in West Virginia. As time went on, I started looking up stuff and researching and it felt like the perfect fit.”
A broken finger just before the start of last season, along with game cancelations due to the pandemic, allowed for Okonkwo to play in what he estimated was only 10 games for Justin Dempsey at Beckley Prep.
Still, Okonkwo held an offer from Rutgers, before offering his commitment to West Virginia. Okonkwo believes his style of play fits the mold of what Huggins seeks from his players.
“One of my biggest strengths is mentality and motor,” he said. “Not wanting to stop and wanting to hustle on every play. Going after every rebound, communicating on defense. The intangibles that college coaches love to see.”
Despite being an avid tennis player during his early childhood days in the London suburb, Okonkwo took an interest to basketball after a growth spurt at 12.
“It was like OK, the rest of my body is out of proportion,” he said. “I know I’m growing. It’s time to do something with that height.”
Okonkwo has an older brother Oliver who plays tennis at Iowa, but he chose to pursue basketball. Now he’s looking to fine-tune his game before moving off to the college level in two seasons. That starts this summer on the AAU circuit as a member of the All-Ohio Red team. Okonkwo will participate in the famed Nike Peach Jam next month.
Okonkwo, rated a four-star recruit by Rivals, became West Virginia’s first commit for 2023. He feels he already has a lot to offer.
“I have a pretty solid post-up game and I can knock down a jumper pretty consistently,” he said. “I can face up pretty well in the mid-range and knock down mid-range shots. I can handle the ball pretty well for a big man. I’m not absolutely stuck to the floor if I’m having to dribble the ball full court. My defensive versatility needs improvement, but I think it’s a strength of mine due to my agility and athleticism and a 6-9 frame. That’s pretty important.”
Okonkwo continues to adjust and learn to the style of play in the United States, which he describes as nothing like the style of play back home.
“The biggest difference between UK and US basketball, especially when you play high level high school teams and prep teams, it’s talent level and athleticism,” he said. “The speed of the game is just different. Everyone wants to compete and I can’t say that for every single game I played in the UK. Over here, I’ve only played nine or ten and every single game has been intense and competitive. I’ve loved it so far.
“If you’re not in shape, you’re not going to win a basketball game. There’s more emphasis on conditioning and actually learning how to play basketball, like defensive rotations, on-ball defense and mentality. It’s a lot different.”
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June 29, 2021 at 03:24AM
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Okonkwo looks at chance to play at West Virginia as 'perfect fit' - West Virginia MetroNews
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