welcome 7'1" 260 lbs "sir" kingsley okoroh, coach martin's 1st commitment to the california golden bears
spoke with okoroh's hc jai steadman at westwind prep (i'm an acquaintance/not a drinking buddy of former suns tom chambers whose twins sons also attend westwind) in phx who emphasized several times that kingsley is an outstanding young man
okoroh has a 3.0+ gpa & his dad michael is a professor of facilities mgmt at the university of derby's school of engineering & technology...his dad has a family policy of mandatory good grades in order to play sports & is harder on his sons re: academics than athletics...kingsley bro is a bodybuilder back in england
westwind's academic tutor hannah has told steadman that kingsely is very polite & actively engaged in his schoolwork...apparently hannah doesn't say this about all of jai's players
okoroh season stats: 18 ppg, 12 rpg, 6 bpg & 4 apg
steadman thinks that okoroh like most young bigs has significant development potential on offense & has a nice soft touch...he shot 79% on fts & did not attempt any 3 pters, apparently kingsley does not think of himself as a stretch 4 like some former players & recruits
defensively steadman compared him to dikembe mutombo in terms of his ability to be a monster shot blocker & rebounder but still needs more strength to reach his potential
jai also told me he has known cuonzo for yrs & that he knows kingsley is in "very good hands" with coach martin
most rating services have not seen okoroh play but tom chambers thinks okoroh with hard work could have nba potential
kingsley, welcome to the #1 ranked public university in the world (including waterford, england)
kingsley's loi has been signed & received by the bears staff
okoroh should be academically good to go between his education in england (low achievement students are funneled into trade schools), findlay prep classes, westwind prep coursework & additional credits at grand canyon university (15 minutes from westwind prep)
okoroh is ranked as the 5th best prospect in europe by espn's bb recruitiing services
**********************************************************
"i like kinglsey's ability to block shots and protect the rim...he continues to make great strides with his offense...kingsley has great size at 7'1" 260 pounds and has the chance to get bigger and stronger in our strength and conditioning program...i think he has a bright future in front of him and has a chance to be really good"
-cuonzo martin
**********************************************************
before nooner yoga today i spoke with classmate padraig o'brien, a trainer/basketall developer for hs, college & nba (including 5 lottery picks) ballers...padraig has known westwind prep hc jai steadman for yrs & worked with this season's squad
padraig told me that kingsley is a very well mannered & polite young man who looks like a nba player when he walks in the door...his "strength is his ability to run & get up & down the floor"...he has not developed any reliable post interior moves at this time (which is typical for a young big)
i'm not gonna repeat padraig's funny comment but basically kingsley biggest challenge is that he hasn't quite developed his inner bad azz yet
when i mentioned the impressive okoroh video clip of blocking shots like mutombo, he laughed & said "when you play 70 games like westwind did this season, you can put together an impressive film package on anyone"
bottom line, padraig thinks kingsley has a significant upside but that the cal coaches are gonna have light a fuse or two with our english gentleman to spark his motor...king has gotta lose the polite gentleman afternoon tea at the dorchester mentality & become a relentless attacker like london's burning
**********************************************************
"when we signed king, we knew he was a guy who could be good in the future...i think he will play early...he's still growing offensively...he's done a great job with his body...he's always been a shot blocker, he can rebound, outlet the ball...he has a defensive mindset first...he's really improved since he got here"
-cuonzo martin
never mind the bollocks#