Westwind Prep Academy has seen their share of struggles recently with the recent academic ruling by the NCAA, but things are now looking up in a big way - and I mean big. With the introduction of a new Director of Basketball Operations, Jai Steadman, a former professional basketball coach, and Nick Weaver as the school's head coach for the high school program, Westwind has made some significant changes to their program.
There are also some other big advancements to the school's program that we will talk about in the near future.
This season, in an attempt to move forward and to continue growing the basketball program and successful tradition they have built on the basketball court, the program eliminated their national high school program, and focused on their post-graduate program. As a result, the school lured some more top-rated basketball talent to the program. The post-grad program is filled with prospects that have achieved their academic performance before entering Westwind, so academics will not be an issue for these student-athletes.
The coaching staff at Westwind is working very hard to raise the college recruitment of their student-athletes. One prospect that has emerged and is benefiting a great deal already from his time at Westwind Prep is 6-foot-11 senior post Kingsley Okoroh. While just turning 18 years of age, Okoroh is a large post talent that spent last season at the nation's premier basketball program - Findlay Prep (NV). A native of England, Okoroh is among the biggest post prospects in the country and, while he is still a raw talent, he is hearing from a large number of division-I programs as of late.
On Wednesday evening, while participating in a scrimmage against South Mountain Junior College, Okoroh received a visitor from Purdue University. Immediately following the game, Okoroh received an offer from the program - his biggest offer to date. Okoroh will also receive visits to Westwind this week from Memphis and Nebraska, while 24 other division-I programs have contacted the Westwind coaching staff this week about the emerging post prospect.
Okoroh advised me that currently he would like to choose a college program where he will have a chance to play right away. He stated that playing time will be a big factor in his decision. That could change for Okoroh as loads of division-I programs begin to extend offers to the post prospect.
Okoroh is still a project overall, but he does have a good overall skill-set and a good understanding of the game. While the game still seems to be fast for him, when he gets the basketball in the post he is capable of finishing strong at the rim, although he is still physically a little weak. Over time, as he gains more maturity physically and more explosion off the ground, he should do a much better job of finishing around the basket. He does possess a good jump hook and gains very good low-post position inside the paint, as there are not many post players that can match his physical size.
Okoroh can run the floor now but should run much better over time with added maturity and physical strength. He is a good rebounder as a result of his size, but needs to continue to work harder to rebound outside of his area. He is a good shotblocker with excellent length of body and has solid timing, but his lack of quickness often times causes him to be out of position for the play. Over time and with hard work he should become a much more productive shotblocker.
Currently, Okoroh is a very good looking post prospect as a result of his sheer size and tremendous upside for the future. He will continue to see scholarship offers pour in for himself, and I look for him to wait until the spring before making his college decision.
