James Okonkwo joins UNC basketball. What’s he bring to the Tar Heels?
North Carolina basketball boosted its depth behind Armando Bacot with the addition of West Virginia transfer James Okonkwo.
UNC announced the addition of Okonkwo on Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-8 junior forward is the fifth player from the transfer portal to join the Tar Heels.
“We are thrilled to have James and his family join our UNC basketball family,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said in a school-issued statement.
“We needed another experienced big man that could do multiple things on the floor, both offensively and defensively. James checks all those boxes. He’s also a wonderful kid, a great student and fits perfectly with the makeup of this team.”
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Okonkwo averaged 11 minutes per game for the Mountaineers last season and led the team in field goal percentage (57.4%) and blocks (22). Earlier this month, the England native led Great Britain’s U20 squad in scoring (12.1 ppg), rebounding (9.9 rbg) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg) at the European Championships.
Okonkwo should aid Bacot and sophomore Jalen Washington in UNC's frontcourt. Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame), Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Jae’Lyn Withers (Louisville) and Paxson Wojcik (Brown) also joined the Tar Heels as additions from the portal.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What James Okonkwo brings to UNC basketball
