Stanford Four-Star Guard Ready to Face Duke, Former Teammate

Feb 10, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; A general view of the center court television camera well at Maples Pavilion before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Stanford men's basketball has a massive year two of the Kyle Smith Era ahead of them, and they may have signed the face of the program for the coming years. He's officially on campus and ready to begin his debut campaign with the Cardinal.

Ebuka Okorie, a four star guard from New Hampshire, was an absolute star for national powerhouse Brewster Academy. The Bobcats reached a national semifinal, with Okorie as arguably the best player on the team. Now he hopes to bring that winning experience to a Stanford that is already trending in the right direction.

“I want to come into every practice competing, have winning habits, like listening to the coaches, playing hard, and just trying to improve and just get better each practice.”

What Landed Okorie at Stanford

Okorie was drawn to Stanford for many reasons, but it was the relationships he built during the recruiting process that sealed the deal. “The relationship I had with coach Smith and coach Hunter. They said I have an opportunity to play, an opportunity to contribute to winning.”

The freshman had stellar academics at Brewster, and now hopes to bring that experience into the classroom to Stanford. But it won’t be easy, while also playing basketball. Okorie, though, is ready to conquer both.

“Yeah, for me, it really just comes down to time management. Just really just managing my time. I had to do that at prep school, obviously living away from my family and all. I managed my time and did my homework. So yeah, just time management.”

Okorie Ready to Take on Duke

In Okorie’s first season with the Cardinal, he will have some tough matchups. They play a daunting ACC schedule, with the most notable game coming against Duke at home.

At Brewster, the duo of the Bobcats was Okorie and his teammate, Sebastian Wilkins, who is committed to the Blue Devils. In addition, the brothers that knocked the Bobcats out of the National tournament were the Boozer twins (Cameron and Cayden), who will both attend The Brotherhood. There is no doubt that January 17, 2026 is circled on Okorie’s schedule.

“I'm pretty excited. I'm excited to play all the ACC teams. Obviously, Duke, known for being really good, so that'll be like a really big game and it'll be here at home and I'll get to play against Sebastian [Wilkins]. So that game will be really fun, but honestly, every game I'm just coming to compete and help the team.

Okorie is ready for year one of his collegiate career, where he hopes to bring Stanford back to March Madness for the first time in 12 years.