By R.L. Bynum
West Virginia junior 6–8 forward James Okonkwo has committed to North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels needed front-court depth.
Okonkwo, who led the Mountaineers with 22 blocks last season while shooting 57.4% from the floor but entered the transfer portal on June 26, announced his decision Thursday on social media.
His post read: “After being in communication with the UNC coaching staff following my decision to enter the transfer portal, I have decided to commit to UNC to play for Coach Davis in the 2023–2024 season. Can’t wait to compete for a national championship at Chapel Hill. Let’s go Tar Heels!!”
Okonkwo, who turns 20 on Oct. 1, is in North Macedonia playing for Great Britain’s team that plays its opener in the FIBA U20 Men’s European Championship on Friday at 3 p.m. against Austria. You can watch a streaming broadcast of the game here.
After playing three games in his first season at West Virginia, he scored 42 points in 31 games over 340 minutes last season.
During his freshman season, he made the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie team. That season he was out for the first seven games with a foot injury.
His best game was when he had career highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds on Feb. 4 in the Mountaineers’ 93–61 home win over Oklahoma.
Okonkwo’s addition leaves Coach Hubert Davis with two more scholarships. Okonkwo had scheduled a visit to UNC for later this month.
Although his hometown is Maidenhead, England, he attended high school at Beckley Prep in West Virginia.
He made a two-handed block against Texas Tech (below).
In Coach Bob Huggin’s final season at West Virginia before resigning last month, the Mountaineers went 19–15 overall and 7–11 in the Big 12. WVU lost 76–65 in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Maryland, with Okonkwo playing 14 scoreless minutes with six rebounds, two assists and a block.
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Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–6 | 205 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left in transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Through Sunday — NBA Draft Combine in Chicago
May 27 (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo via @kingjmo_32
