UNC Basketball: James Okonkwo to visit North Carolina
After recently entering the transfer portal, a former West Virginia Mountaineer is expected to visit the UNC basketball program.
Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program have been actively looking to fill their remaining scholarships for the 2023-2024 season.
With multiple players leaving the West Virginia program after Bob Huggins’ departure, Davis and his staff have identified some of the players that would fit next year’s squad.
One was Mohamed Wague, who has been taking visits elsewhere but hasn’t reportedly scheduled a trip to Chapel Hill at this point. The other is James Okonkwo, an interesting frontcourt player who is going to be making an official visit to campus.
West Virginia transfer James Okonkwo is aiming to visit North Carolina on July 24th, per his brother. https://t.co/iSfcRxdgBu
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 2, 2023
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports first reported that Okonkwo will visit both North Carolina and Texas A&M. His venture to Chapel Hill is scheduled to take place on July 24.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward out of England saw limited action as a freshman but increased his role last season as a sophomore. He appeared in 31 contests, playing 11 minutes per night, averaging 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 57.4 percent from the floor.
Okonkwo is the type of player that this current UNC basketball roster needs: a big man who could provide steady minutes off the bench.
Think of how Duke has utilized Theo John and Ryan Young over the last few seasons. Neither one needed the ball in their hands, but they provided solid contributions in whatever minutes were available on that given night.
That’s exactly what Hubert Davis and company need behind star big man Armando Bacot this year.
A player like Okonkwo could also be a developmental piece, as he’d have two seasons of eligibility to work with. His playing time and role could drastically increase by the time his college career would ultimately come to an end.
We’ll have to wait at least a few weeks to see how this one plays out, but James Okonkwo is a name to keep an eye on for fans of the UNC basketball program.
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