Stanford Freshman Ebuka Okorie Just Declared for the NBA Draft and He's Already a Projected First-Rounder
Here's the wild part: a kid from New Hampshire that nobody wanted is now headed to the NBA. Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie declared for the draft Thursday after a freshman season that honestly feels like a video game on rookie difficulty. He led the entire ACC in scoring. As a freshman. As someone who had zero high major offers coming out of high school.
Let that sink in for a second.
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Okorie averaged 23.2 points per game this season to go with 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals. He ranked eighth nationally in scoring as a freshman. The guy shot 46.5% from the field and earned honorable mention All-America status.
He scored 719 points this season. Third most in Stanford history. Only Chasson Randle (724 in 2014-15) and Adam Keefe (734 in 1991-92) are ahead of him, and both had way more experience.
Oh, and he dropped 30 points eight times this season. That's more 30-point games than Duke's Marvin Bagley III had as a freshman in the ACC (seven in 2017-18). Eight. As a freshman.
From Nobody to First-Round Projection
Okorie shared his gratitude on Instagram, saying Stanford took a chance on him when nobody else wanted to. "A year ago you guys took a chance on a kid from New Hampshire with zero high major offers, welcoming me with open arms and allowing me to be the best version of myself on and off the court," he posted. "I'm truly blessed and humbled with this opportunity, and I'm thankful to Stanford for helping me chase my dreams."
NBA scouts are buying in. Okorie is rated as a first-round pick with a real possibility of moving into the lottery. That's the kind of projection you give to guys who can actually play at the next level, not afterthoughts from small programs.
This is what happens when a program takes a flyer on talent nobody else sees. Okorie came in overlooked and left as a potential lottery talent. That's the dream.
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