Prince Okoroh Takes the Reins for Roosevelt

It didn't take  Coach Brendan O'Connell long to recognize Prince Okoroh's upside.

Even while he refined his offensive game early in his career, the versatile Okoroh was a force for the Raiders both defensively and on the boards.

Now that he's improved on the offensive end as well, the 6-foot-5 Okoroh, primarily a forward, has not only established himself as one of the better players in the area, but also as a legitimate NCAA Division-I prospect.

The senior has received offers from Brown, Columbia, Howard, UMBC and the Citadel and has also garnered interest from schools like Fordham, among several others.

"It was early that we knew we had something special," O'Connell said. "He's always been a kid that has done whatever we asked. And as the years have gone on, he's developed a lot more skill and has become one of the most talented players in the area."

Okoroh posted 16 points and 14 rebounds in Tuesday's 47-43 overtime win against DuVal and has recorded at least 12 points in five of Roosevelt's first six games. He had a season-high 26 along with 12 rebounds in the Raiders' 74-48 win against High Point Dec. 14.

A three-year varsity player, Okoroh averaged nearly 10 points per game last year and has become much more of a focal point this season as Roosevelt (3-3) has tried to replace departed 6-foot-8 forward Alex Bates, now a freshman at Northeastern, as well as injured point guard Jamal Sims, a Columbia commit, who may miss the entire season.

"We create a lot of mismatches with Prince," O'Connell said. "He's a great finisher and can finish equally with both hands. He's really good around the basket and has got a great mid-range game. He's also a great low-post player for his size. As a sophomore, we didn't look at him to handle the ball or score or any of that. But last year, he did a lot of that for us. And this year, he's doing even more."

Okoroh, who O'Connell views as more of a natural shooting guard or small forward at the collegiate level, has played nearly everywhere on the floor for the Raiders to help offset the absence of both Bates and Sims.

"It makes life a lot easier when you have that kind of versatility," said O'Connell, who sees some similarities between Okoroh and former University of Maryland forward Landon Milbourne (2006-10). "Regardless of what we're trying to do, he's always on the court – whether we want to go big, small or even if we want to go with a pressing lineup. He's in all those combinations. He can defend almost every position and he's that good of a rebounder that he can play center for us at times."

Yet Okoroh is quick to deflect much of the credit to his teammates.

"Because of my teammates, I'm able to be in the right position at the right time," he said. "We play hard and everyone plays their role."

Even without Bates and Sims, O'Connell and Okoroh are both optimistic that Roosevelt can follow up on last season's success. Including Okoroh, the Raiders return eight of their top 10 scorers from last year's team that reached the Class 4A state semifinals before losing, 52-48, to Springbrook, the eventual state champion.

"Our main goal is to get better every day, and we want to do better than we did last season," Okoroh said. "We lacked a killer instinct last year, but we want to develop that this season. If we can do that, all of our goals will be accomplished and we'll be a tough team to beat."

O'Connell recognizes his players' objectives, but knows that without Okoroh, seeing them come to fruition will be an impossibility. 

"We always have high expectations," O'Connell said. "The team set a lot of goals that they want to reach. But obviously, we're not going to do that if Prince doesn't play well."

Be sure to click the play button on the photo above to view video highlights of Okoroh in action.

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Photo: Creative Commons from Flickr user inhisgrace.

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