Virginia Tech had built a 31-24 halftime lead at home against Stanford two weeks ago when coach Mike Young offered a reminder to his players about Cardinal freshman Ebuka Okorie.
“Don’t underestimate this kid,” he said. “He’s that good.”
Actually, Okorie has been better than almost anyone envisioned.
Okorie had just five first-half points at Virginia Tech, but over the final 20 minutes, the 6-foot-2 guard scored 26 more on 9-for-12 shooting. He added five assists and, over the final 2:09 scored 11 points. His step-back 3-pointer with 3 seconds to play sent Stanford home with a 69-68 victory.
Noting that Okorie scored a Stanford freshman record 36 points in a 95-90 win over 14th-ranked North Carolina a week later, Young said, “I feel a lot better about myself. He’s a special talent.”
And Okorie seems to be getting better almost every week. His 36-point outing against the Tar Heels marked the fourth time in seven games he topped 30.
The challenge of trying to slow down the nation’s third-highest scoring freshman now lands in the lap of Cal coach Mark Madsen, whose Bears (14-5, 2-4 ACC) visit Stanford (14-5, 3-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“Nobody has been able to stop him this year,” Madsen suggested. “You go out there and you try to limit him as best you can.”
He is averaging 22.1 points, eighth-best in the nation and, among freshmen, trailing only Duke’s Cameron Boozer (23.2) and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (22.5), both projected as high NBA draft lottery picks.
Okorie is on pace to record the highest freshman scoring average in the history of the Bay Area’s six Division I programs. That distinction currently belongs to former Cal one-and-one star Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who scored 21.1 points per game in 1995-96 before becoming the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft.
The highest scoring average logged by a Stanford freshman was 17.2 points by Todd Lichti in 1985-86.
“He’s definitely been better than I thought he would be,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said.
Jason Smith, who coached Okorie last season at powerhouse Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, is among the minority who are not surprised by his fast start.
“He has the right attitude and the right mindset,” Jason Smith said. “Ebuka is a little bit different than his peers in that he’s not enamored with social media. He doesn’t really care where he was ranked by the `experts.’
“He was really just focused on being the best version of himself. He is the highest character individual who works extremely hard.”
In that way, Jason Smith said, Okorie is similar to Donovan Mitchell, the best player among 25 Brewster alums who have played in the NBA.
“When Donovan was here, and he was (scoring) like 11, 12 points per game, he was (still) high energy, a great leader, leader in our community. Ebuka has a lot of the same characteristics,” the Brewster coach said.
“I really value being humble and having humility,” Okorie told the website Basket Under Review back in mid-November. “I have a long way to go . . . so I just take it day by day and go through the full process of staying level-headed, grounded.”
Okorie committed to Harvard in the fall of 2024. But three weeks later, while at home during a school break, he had a tough conversation with his parents.
“He basically told them, `I made the commitment to Harvard because I know that’s where you want me to go. But I want to play at a higher level athletically than Harvard can offer me,’ “ Jason Smith recounted.
Kyle Smith had only seen Okorie play once — during an AAU summer-league game where one of his teammates took most of the shots. But when he got word that Okorie’s recruitment had reopened, he sent assistants across the country to watch multiple practices.
Okorie, who has declined 1-on-1 interview requests over the past month, told Basket Under Review that the NBA has always been his dream.
“Stanford I felt like was the best opportunity for me to pursue that goal,” Okorie said. “I also felt like it would set me up for things other than basketball.”
Still just 18 years old, Okorie is still maturing physically. In other ways, Okorie is beyond his years.
“He’s such a calm customer. He doesn’t change,” Stanford’s Kyle Smith said. “His routine is unbelievable. He’s in the gym this morning, on his own, 8 a.m., shooting like he does every day.”
Stanford has relied heavily on Okorie in the 17 games he has played. He is averaging 25.9 points, 3.75 assists, and shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range in 12 victories, compared to 13.0 points, 1.8 assists, and 2 for 28 from deep in five defeats.
“I just hope he can stay consistent with his effort and not feel the pressure of having to go big for us to win,” Kyle Smith. “Obviously, we need him to play well, and we need other guys to meet the moment as well. He’s just doing great. ”
Highest freshman full-season scoring averages in Bay Area history:
Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie is averaging 22.1 points per game, eighth-best in the nation and on pace to be the highest freshman scoring average in the history of the Bay Area’s six Division I programs. Here’s the current Top-10
1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Cal 1995-96 21.1 points
2. Winford Boynes, USF 1975-76 18.1
3t. Todd Lichti, Stanford 1985-86 17.2
3t. Jared Brownridge, S.Clara 2013-14 17.2
5. Ryan Anderson, Cal 2006-07 16.3
6. Kurt Rambis, Santa Clara 1976-77 15.3
7t. Leon Powe, Cal 2003-04 15.1
7t. Jeremiah Wilkinson, Cal 2024-25 15.1
9. Brian Hendrick, Cal 1989-90 14.9
10. Patty Mills, Saint Mary’s 2007-08 14.8
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