Nigerian power forward Emmanuel Okorafor (18), who impressed at the Basketball Africa League (BAL) last year, has committed to the University of Louisville, having been inspired by countryman Jordan Nwora.
Okorafor was one of few standout players in the DR Congo's Espoir Fukash's BAL campaign, after joined the team via the BAL Elevate program, which gave opportunities to the most talented players in the NBA Academy Africa. Fukash were eliminated in the Nile Conference in Cairo.
His job now is to repeat what he achieved at the BAL: shining in a struggling team, albeit one with an illustrious history, with 77 players having been drafted into the NBA from Louisville. Bar David Johnson (Toronto Raptors, 2021), the most recent was Nwora, the 45th overall pick in round 2 of the 2020 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Jordan Nwora is a Nigerian, so he left a big legacy there in Louisville and him being a Nigerian makes me realise that I can do great things at Louisville... He influenced me and inspires me to do good also," Okorafor told ESPN, also highlighting the experience of coach Kenny Payne as a decisive factor in his choice.
When asked what the Cardinals fans should expect from him as he looks to help lift them out of their slump, Okorafor said: "Right now, this situation that we are in isn't really a good situation, but I know that I'm a guy who always plays hard.
"I always play hard and give my best to help the team. Playing in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) - playing in Louisville right now - won't be a problem, because I've fitted in a professional league, the BAL.
"That was my first time playing in the BAL and I play hard and I know what I can bring to a team. Definitely, I know I can bring energy to Louisville. I'm going to motivate guys [to believe] we can do it, play hard and give 100% effort for us to win games."
The six-foot-nine Okorafor, who flew on Monday to start his new life in the US, previously visited Oral Roberts along with NBA Africa Academy teammate Joy Ighovodja, but while Ighovodja committed to the Golden Eagles, his friend and compatriot chose a different path.
Okorafor is no stranger to taking the road less travelled. In 2019, when he was growing up in Festac, he was noticed by Educational Basketball, a program run by brothers Iseolupo and Olutobi Adepitan.
It often took up to three hours for Okorafor to travel to Victoria Island by motorbike and then bus - and he still had to complete the journey to the courts on foot. However, he had made his mind up about what he wanted and nothing could stand in his way.
"From my house to where we train is up to three hours. We practiced, I think, four times in a week. Because of how far it was, I would leave my home at six o'clock [in the morning]. I had to take multiple buses to get there... up to three buses," Okorafor recalled.
Balancing this with school was naturally a challenge. Thankfully, Okorafor was able to move into a highly structured learning environment at the NBA Academy in Saly, Senegal, reaching heights that the Adepitan brothers never doubted he could scale.
When asked what set Okorafor apart at Educational Basketball, Olutobi Adepitan told ESPN: "First and foremost, we definitely have to commend his resilience.
"He was coming from Festac two hours and 30 minutes away on days when there was not really traffic - and on days there was traffic, he was coming from three hours away. We would typically finish workouts at around 5:30 [or] 6 [pm], so he wouldn't get home until 10.
"Outside of that, his skillset, his versatility, his skillfulness with the ball at his feet. We just saw him and knew that he was going to use basketball as a tool to bless his family and take his life forward."
The third season the of the BAL starts on March 11 in Dakar, Senegal. It airs on ESPN channels in Africa and in select territories across the globe.