Louisville's Emmanuel Okorafor Stands Out at 2023 GLOBL JAM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As the Louisville men's basketball program prepares for year two under head coach Kenny Payne, Emmanuel Okorafor has spent part of this offseason competing in international play. He took full advantage of the opportunities he was given.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward/center from Lagos, Nigeria recently took part in the 2023 GLOBL Jam, playing for Basketball Africa League Select. While BAL Select went 0-4 during the event, which wrapped up on Sunday, it certainly wasn't due to the efforts of Okorafor.

Playing in three of BAL Select's four games at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Canada, Okorafor put together a solid showing on the world stage. Starting in all three of his appearances, he averaged 10.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.0 block and 0.7 assists per game. He shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from the field overall, and 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) at the free throw line.

Due to visa issues, Okorafor had to miss BAL Select's group stage opener against Team Canada, an 88-62 loss. He played the game against Team Germany, but did not have a chance to practice with the team beforehand. This resulted in him tallying just four points (2-4 FG), three rebounds and a block in an 88-79 loss.

Once he was able to get a practice session in, he performed much better BAL Select's final group stage game. In the showdown with the University of Kentucky - who ironically served as the representative for Team USA - Okorafor scored 16 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free throw line. He also collected five rebounds and a block, but BAL Select eventually fell 104-92.

Okorafor saved his best for last, logging a double-double in the Bronze Medal game against Team Germany. While he went just 4-for-13 from the field with a pair of free throws, that was enough to finish with 10 points, as well as 14 rebounds and two assists. BAL Select fell 77-72 in the rematch.

Okorafor joined Louisville this past January as a midseason addition by way of the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal. He appeared in five games during the 2022-23 season, averaging 4.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game before an ankle injury shut him down.

Across all four NBA Academies around the world, Okorafor was one of just 12 prospects chosen to participate in the Basketball Africa League's Elevate program in 2022. The BAL was established in 2019 as a joint effort between the NBA and FIBA, and is regarded as the premier basketball league on the African continent.

Okorafor played for BC Espoir Fukash during the 2022 iteration of the BAL, which is a team based out of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In five games, he averaged 9.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game, while shooting 56.3 percent from the field.

(Photo of Emmanuel Okorafor: Timothy D. Easley - Associated Press)

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