By R.L. Bynum
After one season with limited playing time at North Carolina, James Okonkwo will transfer to Akron, according to multiple reports.
He’ll join the Zips along with former West Virginia teammate Seth Wilson, who played with the Mountaineers the past three seasons.
Akron went 24–11 last season, finished 13–5 in the Mid-American Conference and won the league tournament. The Zips, who lost to Creighton 70–60 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, have won the conference tournament and earned an NCAA berth in two of the last three seasons.
Okonkwo, a 6–8, 240-pound center from Maidenhead, England, went from playing 31 games as a sophomore at West Virginia to playing only 43 minutes all season over 15 games at UNC.
He averaged 11 minutes, 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds a game two seasons ago for the Mountaineers with career-highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds on Feb. 4, 2023, against Oklahoma. But he collected only 15 points and 15 rebounds as a Tar Heel.
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Okonkwo got first-half minutes on Jan. 20 in the 76–66 win at Boston College, taking an alley-oop pass from Elliot Cadeau and slamming home a dunk at the halftime buzzer for his only points in the game.
He was stuck on the bench behind Armando Bacot, Jalen Washington and Zayden High, and much of his playing time came alongside the walk-ons at the end of one-sided games. He twice earned a biscuit discount for the fans by scoring Carolina’s 100th point.
Ultimately, his biggest role for UNC was playing tough defense on Bacot and Washington in practice.
He arrived in Chapel Hill in late July after playing for Great Britain in the FIBA U20 European Championships Division B in North Macedonia.
His best game for UNC was against Charleston Southern, when he scored seven points and four rebounds. His best ACC game was the home blowout of Syracuse, when he had four points and three rebounds.
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 one 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 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| 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 | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | 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 for the 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 |
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)
Oct. 18 — exhibition game vs. Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
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 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 6 — vs. Butler
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via courtesy of FIBA
