MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bob Huggins has recruited players from Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Mali, Poland, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Turkey and Ukraine during his 16 seasons at WVU. His first signee from England came to Morgantown after a brief stop in Beckley.
Sophomore forward James Okonkwo is a native of Maidenhead, England. Seeking opportunities for greater exposure in his basketball recruitment, Okonkwo left the United Kingdom in August, 2020. He signed with Beckley Prep IJN at a time when in-person recruiting opportunities were extremely limited by the pandemic.
“It was mainly, ironically because of COVID. They cut our season short when the COVID outbreak initially hit and we had to quarantine,” Okonkwo said. “I had a bunch of clips from the parents on our team that would record the games. I would take those recordings and edit some of them into a highlight reel. Then I put that onto my YouTube. Then my Beckley Prep IJN coach, Justin Dempsey, he saw that and reached out to me. That was the only opportunity I had to come to the states. I felt I had to take it. I came to the right state. Huggs saw me and it has been wonderful since then.”
While basketball is gaining popularity in many corners of the globe, Okonkwo knew more opportunities existed in the United States than the United Kingdom.
“When I was in high school in the UK, there wasn’t AAU. We didn’t do travel teams. We just played a game like once a week. It is like the fifth or sixth most popular sport in the UK, which is outrageous to me. I think now they are doing a much better job of bringing it back up, which is good. It would have been useful three years ago.
“When it comes to basketball, when it comes to West Virginia, there’s no where else in America or the UK that can prepare me as much as they have here. I came in 218 pounds as a freshman, skin and bone. Now I am like 235 pounds and 6-foot-9. I have grown into my frame a lot more and I am more athletic.”
Okonkwo can now challenge post players under the basket. Battling for position in the paint is a far cry from his first sport of choice growing up. Okonkwo played tennis for almost nine years and grew into an accomplished player. When he went through a growth spurt, Okonkwo wisely decided that his future wouldn’t be on the hardcourt, but rather, the hardwood.
“As I got to my first year of high school in the UK, I just switched to basketball. That’s when I started growing rapidly. I think tennis is where I got my hand-to-eye coordination and footwork from and most of my agility. I think it was important I did that before starting to play basketball because I had the fundamentals before I came in.”
Okonkwo originally committed to WVU as a Class of 2023 recruit. He bypassed his final two years of high school and enrolled at West Virginia in time for the fall semester in 2021. Okonkwo was eligible to enroll in college at this time based on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). The GCSE is a qualification taken by 15 and 16-year-olds that marks graduation from a Key Stage 4 phase of secondary education in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Early in his freshman season, Okonkwo suffered a broken foot. He appeared in just three games last winter, playing ten minutes.
“Last year would have been a lot easier if I didn’t get injured. That kind of put a wrench in the works. At that point, I didn’t really know what was going to happen. I just rolled with the punches.”
This season, Okonkwo has played in seven of West Virginia’s eight games. He is averaging 11 minutes per contest.
“This year, I am just trying to get into my role and do what coach brought me here to do — run to the rim, run down the court, box out and block shots — just try to be like a defensive anchor.”
Okonkwo did not play in WVU’s third game against Morehead State. Bob Huggins held him out of the game for a lack of focus in pregame warmups.
“Me not taking the game seriously affected the team. Coach was justified in not playing me. He expects us to hold ourselves with self-accountability. Now, I haven’t made that mistake again. So I think we are good in that aspect.”
After being benched by Bob Huggins against Morehead State, West Virginia’s James Okonkwo is running steps inside The Coliseum. pic.twitter.com/eNAU9dodQt
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 16, 2022
After sitting on the bench for the entire the game, Okonkwo added a self-inflicted punishment. He was seen running steps in the Coliseum.
“I felt that me not playing wasn’t enough. That was just my way of apologizing to the program.”
Two games later, Okonkwo drew the assignment of guarding Purdue’s Zach Edey.
“I had gone from not playing my first year to guarding a 7-foot-4, 290-pound monster. I think just trying to stay locked in and not be too distracted with who I have to guard. Just trying to stop the ball and slow my defensive matchup down as much as I can like coach wants me to do. I think the more I play, the more efficient I will get in that aspect.”
Now in his third year in the United States, Okonkwo still follows the national sport in his native England. The “Three Lions” will will compete in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals Saturday.
“I am not looking forward to the France matchup. I think we are going to go home. I thought we were going to beat the USA team at least 3-0. All of my friends back home were saying when we beat them that you have to let your teammates know. And then we didn’t win.”