Stanford's Ebuka Okorie Declares For NBA Draft After Record Freshman Season

The only freshmen ahead of him were projected lottery picks AJ Dybantsa of BYU and Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas. 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, Okorie said in a social media post thanking coach Kyle Smith and the Stanford staff. Okorie made an immediate impact, scoring 26 points in his debut against Portland State before breaking out with a 36-point effort in an upset win over North Carolina in January. He scored 40 points in a home victory over Georgia Tech and finished with eight 30-point games on the season, breaking the ACC freshman record previously held by Duke's Marvin Bagley III. His 719 total points rank third in Stanford history for a single season, trailing only Adam Keefe's 734 in 1991-92 and Chasson Randle's 724 in 2014-15. Okorie earned first-team All-ACC honors and honorable mention AP All-American recognition, adding 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The last player to reach those combined per-game marks was Ja Morant at Murray State in 2018-19. His perimeter shooting also improved significantly as the season progressed, connecting on 46.9 of his three-point attempts over his final 12 games. He is projected as a late first-round selection.