James Okonkwo led the West Virginia Mountaineers in blocked shots during his sophomore season (2022–2023), playing in 31 games. However, the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward from England played in just 15 games for Hubert Davis’ third UNC basketball squad during the previous campaign, scoring 1.0 points and grabbing 1.0 rebounds in 2.9 minutes per game on average.
It’s also likely that Davis and his staff will add a few veteran transfers to their three-deep 2024 recruiting class, which includes four-star centre James Brown, two five-star players, and McDonald’s All-Americans in guard Ian Jackson and forward Drake Powell.
There are currently five available scholarships for the UNC basketball programme for the next campaign. Once more, though, that figure might vary based on the actions of players like Harrison Ingram, RJ Davis, and others.
Naturally, there’s a chance that James Okonkwo, 20, uses the gateway to research his alternatives before coming back to Chapel Hill. But such a step is uncommon.
It follows that Okonkwo’s decision to use the transfer portal in search of a larger role elsewhere, as initially reported by 24/7 High School Hoops on Friday morning, is not surprising given that he still has one year of eligibility left.
The announcement is the first of its sort for the Tar Heels this offseason; in the upcoming weeks, there may be a number of more departures to the professional ranks or transfer portal.
It seemed like Okonkwo would need some time to establish himself on the team from the previous season because he was a late addition to the roster. There weren’t many minutes available at the centre position with Armando Bacot and Jalen Washington in the mix, which also reduced his playing time.
This is the present condition of collegiate basketball, with teams all over the nation trying to determine their roster positions for the upcoming year. While the UNC basketball programme attempts to fill the newly available scholarship with a player who can aid the 2024–2025 squad, Okonkwo will choose to pursue his career elsewhere.
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