Louisville Working to Make Emmanuel Okorafor Comfortable in New Setting
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As many people know by now, very little has gone right for the Louisville men's basketball program this season. But, if there is anything worth monitoring as the Cardinals make their way into the second half of their 2022-23 campaign, it's the progression of a player who has been on the roster for less than a week.
Last Thursday, in a bit of a surprising development, Louisville announced that they had added Nigerian native and NBA Academy Africa prospect Emmanuel Okorafor to their 2022-23 roster. The next day, he took part in his first practice with the team.
The true freshman big man is immediately eligible to play for the Cardinals, and in theory, Okorafor could make his debut as early as this Wednesday when Louisville ships up to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College. However - barring a last-minute appearance in garbage time or he digests the playbook at warp speed - it's also highly unlikely he sees the floor against the Eagles. Head coach Kenny Payne, at least right now, doesn't want to throw him into the fire just yet.
"I want him comfortable," Payne said Monday during the ACC Coaches Call, when asked if Okorafor could make his debut against BC. "I want him to feel good about knowing all the plays that we have, knowing exactly what we're doing - our defensive schemes and our offensive stuff - so that he can play basketball without thinking."
While the acquisition of the Lagos, Nigeria native seems like it came out of nowhere, especially considering he was a midseason addition, Payne said that the gears for Okorafor becoming a Cardinal had been in motion for quite some time. He watched film on numerous candidates to potentially join midseason, and did his own homework on Okorafor specifically. In the end, partially due to his training with NBA Academy Africa, Payne believed that he was 'somebody that could help us right away.'
"What NBA Africa is doing for young kids throughout the continent is second to none," Payne said. "I'm sure a lot of other universities, they have been doing it, but more will be trying to target these kids. They do a great job of educating them and putting them in the educational system to be eligible to go to college. They do a great job of mentoring, they do a great job of developing."
As one of 12 NBA Academy prospects chosen to participate in the 2022 iteration of the Basketball Africa League, Okorafor was one of the top rookies in the league. Playing for BC Espoir Fukash, he averaged 9.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean his game will translate immediately to the ACC. In fact, while Okorafor could take the floor in just a couple days, Payne also didn't rule out redshirting him so that he can get properly acclimated to high-major college basketball.
"A lot of it will depend on on how he feels, and how I feel about where he is," Payne said. "I don't want to waste any of his time. But if he can come in and help us, and get more comfortable with college basketball, that's an option for him."
Part of that equation is also how comfortable he feels off the court. As one can imagine, it's a bit of a culture shock moving from Lagos to Louisville. On top of making sure Okorafor feels comfortable and confident in game and on the court, Payne wants to make sure he feels that way during every day life.
"I'm trying to get him comfortable with my philosophy of how I want the bigs to play, and then why I want him to play that way," he said. "Our workouts are geared toward that: a bunch of movement, a bunch of conditioning, a bunch of reaction stuff, offensively and defensively.
"Just getting him acclimated and comfortable on the court, comfortable off the court, comfortable with the food that he eats. He's a Nigerian kid, and we have a couple of Nigerian restaurants that we're gonna start taking him to. We're gathering everything we can to make his life as comfortable as we can."
But whenever Payne does decide to insert Okorafor into the rotation, he believes that the 6-foot-9 and 220-pound forward/center will give Louisville just what they need. Sure, the Cardinals' front court is already crowded, but a large reason why they are currently 2-17 overall and winless in ACC play is the lack of consistent energy and effort. Meanwhile, Okorafor is a player where you never have to worry about their motor.
"Emmanuel is the type of player that wants to please. He's a giver. His energy is unbelievable," Payne said. "From day one that he did his first workout, to his first practice and to a second practice, you can see him bring a fight, a determination, a focus to it. I called him last night at 12 o'clock, and asked, 'What are you doing, kid?' He said, 'I'm studying the plays.' That's the type person he is. That's what he's bringing: a professionalism to this team that we need.
Louisville will be back in action and on the road against Boston College on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Emmanuel Okorafor via NBA Academy)
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