No One Saw Ebuka Okorie Coming, Not Even Jai Lucas
In this story:
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Jai Lucas arrived in Miami as a fresh-faced, young head coach prepared to take over a dying program and revive it. So far, the Hurricanes are 16-4, 5-2 in conference play, and are on pace to return to the NCAA Tournament.
He was also renowned as a superstar recruiter. However, even he can miss out on a prospect that everyone else seems to have missed, except for Stanford.
Freshman Ebuka Okorie has been one of the most electric guards in the country. The listed 6-foot-2 star guard is averaging 21.7 points per game, 11th in the country, and is a high-volume shooter. Even in his last game, he went 1-16; he was at the charity stripe 14 times, knocking down 12.
Lucas knew of him while he was on the recruiting trail but never imagined what he would turn into.
"You know at New Hampshire, he played at a big high school, played at Brewster's, who watched and knew him, he's a good player," Jucas said. "Now, did I expect this from him? Absolutely not.
"But sometimes it's just going to the right environment, going to the right place, at the right time, and being somewhere where you can grow and develop as a freshman, with ultra confidence from your staff and everything. And so you're just seeing the benefit of it. And just him being put in situations, if they put him in a fit. So I just think it's, I don't know if he would be who he is, is really good, if he didn't go to Stanford, and I think they did a good job ofaluating and finding them in the right situation."
Lucas also highlighted what made him so hard to guard now compared to when he first came out of high school.
"He had great speed," Lucas continued. "He's I think he's the one thing that he's now getting fouls, which is everything, because it's just the ability to get and to create so much pressure on the rim with his size. After all, he's not 6-foot-4, he's not 6-foot-5, he's about 6-foot-1, maybe. And so just his burst and the ability to creating foul and generate fouls and getting downfield and make plays for others and do everything, to be honest with you. It's very impressive."
It also helps that this freshman class is one of the best in recent years. Lucas was responsible for bringing talent like the 2025 NBA Draft No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who originally was from this class.
The 2026 freshman class has talent all around the country, even in Miami. Lucas points out why this season is so fun and unpredictable as he prepares for Stanford.
"I think this class was really good to start with," Lucas said. "This class was always really good. Looks back, even like, you get a guy like Cooper Flagg, he's reclassified and is supposed to be in his class. So this class is going to be phenomenal, because I had been watching them for a while, so you knew the guys, the [AJ] Dybansta, Koa Peat, The Boozers, Shelton, and all, you knew they could have an impact.
"And a big part of me is physically. Like you look at them physically and play the games right away and then that talent level as a freshman because they just are still pure in the sense of they haven't been jaded behind the game of the college and then and the coaching that goes into it that they just are still playing out their talent and you put the right pieces around them, it works out.
"So I'm not overly impressed because I knew it was coming because these guys are high-end, like Darryn Peterson, Caleb Wilson, and like, these are Pros. You know what I mean, then to spread out and go to different places. I think it's impressive. So, you know, you have a kid at BYU, North Carolina, Duke, Miami, Stanford, Kansas, they're all over the country, UConn has great freshmen. So it just makes college basketball this season more exciting to watch."
Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes-related: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and BlueSky.
Read More Basketball News:
Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.