Stanford Freshman Ebuka Okorie is Dominating College Basketball

Stanford’s basketball season is off to a 2-0 start in the regular season, but they also had some early success in a secret scrimmage and an exhibition contest that have Cardinal hoops fans excited. Stanford has had tons of success, but in an unexpected way.

Coming into the year, Cardinal fans had expectations of Ryan Agarwal, Chisom Okpara, Benny Gealer, or Jeremy Dent-Smith to be the true top player and top scorer. But somehow, it’s not any of them.

In fact, it’s not a senior, or even a player that was on the roster last year. True freshman Ebuka Okorie has taken the role of top scorer, and even top player early into the year.

Cardinal fans had speculated that Okorie was overlooked in recruiting, and many had high hopes for the guard. With that being said, it’s hard to expect that even he believed that he would be this good.

The dominance started back in the exhibition game against Oregon, where Okorie went for 17 points. In the opener against Portland State, he had 26, which is a freshman record for an opening game. Then, against Montana, he had an insane 29 points in the dominant win, showing that the first game wasn't a fluke.

Currently, Okorie doesn’t just lead the team in points, he’s almost doubled the points of the next top scorer.

And Okorie’s success isn’t just at the local level, he’s actually dominating on a national stage. Of the 5,000 Division I college basketball players, only two average more points than Okorie’s 27.5. To add, no freshman is reaching his numbers, even in a season where freshmen have a dominant reign over college basketball.

It’s tough to predict whether Okorie will truly maintain his success this season, but from what we've seen thus far, it's tough to say that it shouldn't for any reason. Okorie isn’t just hot from three, or getting lucky at all. His play style is all about having the ball, making plays, and leading his team.

He’s done that perfectly. Although he is a three level scorer, most of his points revolve around the rim, and his finishing doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon.

Whether he is a one and done, stays, or transfers, Stanford fans need to enjoy Okorie while he lasts, because Okorie could be playing in the NBA next year with the start he's having.

Stanford hosts Montana State on Wednesday, where you can watch Okorie continue his dominant reign over the college basketball world. The Cardinal play 30 more games this season, and we'll be able to see Okorie continue to develop into a special talent at Maples.