Stan Okoye

Stanley Onyekachukwu Okoye (born April 10, 1991) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Herbalife Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB. A 6'6" swingman, he was named the 2012–13 Big South Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year while playing for Virginia Military Institute (VMI).[1]

Stan Okoye
Okoye in 2014
No. 5 – Herbalife Gran Canaria
PositionSmall forward / Shooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (1991-04-10) April 10, 1991
Raleigh, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican / Nigerian
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolKnightdale
(Knightdale, North Carolina)
CollegeVMI (2009–2013)
NBA draft2013 / Undrafted
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013Barak Netanya
2014Perth Redbacks
2014–2015Varese
2015–2016Matera
2016Trapani
2016–2017Udinese
2017–2018Varese
2018–2019Zaragoza
2019–presentGran Canaria
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Nigeria
AfroBasket
2015 Tunisia

High school career

Okoye, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, attended Knightdale High School from 2005–06 through 2008–09. During his four-year varsity career he scored over 1,300 points and grabbed over 550 rebounds, both of which are school records.[2] Okoye also scored a single game record 42 points during a Class 4A playoff game.[2] Knightdale won 73 games during his tenure.[2] Despite this production on the court, only two NCAA Division I schools offered him basketball scholarships – Campbell University and VMI.[2] Campbell later rescinded their offer, however, leaving Okoye with VMI as his only Division I opportunity, which he then accepted.[2]

College career

Okoye enrolled in fall 2009 at VMI to play for the Keydets. He had initial struggles coping with college life, especially at a military school where upperclassmen put mental and physical pressures on freshmen.[1] At one point he contemplated dropping out before having played in a single college basketball game, but Okoye stuck with it because of support from his teammates.[1] He said, "I stuck it out because of the other guys. I figured if they could take it, I could too."[1]

In 2009–10, Okoye led all Big South Conference freshmen in scoring and field goal percentage in overall games.[3] In conference games, he led all freshmen in scoring, field goal percentage and blocks.[3] For the season he averaged 14.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team.[3][4]

As a sophomore in 2010–11, Okoye improved his averages in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game.[4] His blocks per game dipped slightly from his freshman season, however.[4] Okoye finished his second year with 933 career points.[4] Okoye followed a sophomore year with a junior season that saw him claim a Second Team All-Conference selection.[3] In Big South games he averaged 19.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, which were second and fourth, respectively, within the league.[3] He led the Keydets to the Big South Tournament championship game, but they lost to UNC Asheville 80 to 64.

Okoye had a breakout senior season in 2012–13 in which he averaged 21.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[4] He was named the preseason conference player of the year, an honor he would then garner at the conclusion of the season as well.[3][1] His scoring and rebounding averages led the Big South and was named its Player of the Week five times throughout the season.[5] VMI lost to Charleston Southern in the conference tournament, thus ending VMI's hopes of a postseason tournament bid. Okoye finished his collegiate career with 2,146 points, 962 rebounds, 212 assists, 152 steals and 103 blocks.[4]

Professional career

On August 13, 2013, Okoye signed with Ikaros for the 2013–14 Greek Basket League season.[6] He left Ikaros before playing in a game for them, and on October 27, 2013, he signed with Barak Netanya of Israel for the rest of the season.[7] In November 2013, he left Netanya after appearing in just four games.

On February 6, 2014, Okoye signed with the Perth Redbacks for the 2014 State Basketball League season.[8] He made his debut for the Redbacks in the team's season opener on March 14, recording 30 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 96–93 win over the Rockingham Flames.[9] On May 15, he was named the SBL Player of the Week for Round 9.[10] He appeared in all 30 games for the Redbacks in 2014, averaging 28.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.[11]

On August 16, 2014, Okoye signed with Pallacanestro Varese for the 2014–15 Lega Basket Serie A season.[12] In 23 games for Varese, he averaged 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. On August 17, 2015, Okoye signed with Bawer Matera of the Serie A2 Basket.[13] In February 2016, he left Matera and signed with Pallacanestro Trapani for the rest of the season.[14] On May 27, 2017, Okoye signed with his former club Pallacanestro Varese.[15]

In July 2018, Okoye played for the Denver Nuggets during the 2018 NBA Summer League.[16] On July 28, Okoye signed a one-year deal with Tecnyconta Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.[17] On July 31, 2019, Okoye signed a one-year deal with Herbalife Gran Canaria.[18] He averaged 6.8 points per game. Okoye re-signed with the team on July 18, 2020.[19]

National team career

Okoye has been a member of the senior men's Nigeria national basketball team, representing them at the 2013 and 2015 AfroBasket.

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References
  1. Stevens, Tim (March 7, 2013). "Knightdale's Stan Okoye wins Big South player of the year". NewsObserver.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  2. Moody, Aaron (March 9, 2013). "Column: Stan Okoye peaks, for now". Eastern Wake News. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  3. "#11 Stan Okoye". vmikeydets.com. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  4. "Stan Okoye Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  5. "Okoye Named All-State; Will Play in PIT". vmikeydets.com. April 9, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  6. "Ikaros Halkidas sign Stan Okoye". Sportando.com. August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  7. "Barak Netanya signs Stan Okoye". Sportando.com. October 27, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  8. "Redbacks Sign Okoye for 2014". FoxSportsPulse.com. February 6, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  9. "Early statements made (Week 1 Men's SBL Wrap)". FoxSportsPulse.com. March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  10. "Kickz101 Perth SBL Players of the Week". FoxSportsPulse.com. May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  11. "Player statistics for Stanley Okoye". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  12. "Stan Okoye moves to Pallacanestro Varese". Sportando.com. August 16, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  13. Bawer Matera signs Stan Okoye
  14. Welcome Stanley Okoye! (in Italian)
  15. Stan Okoye returns to Varese
  16. "Ojeleye, Okoye, Gbinije for NBA Summer League | BWB". basketballwithinborders.com. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  17. "Stan Okoye signs with Tecnyconta Zaragoza". Sportando. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  18. "CB Gran Canaria signs Stan Okoye". Sportando. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  19. "Stan Okoye re-signs with Gran Canaria". Sportando. July 18, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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