Over the past six-game stretch which West Virginia has found their non-conference identity, a big reason for their 4-2 stretch has been the play of James Okonkwo.
In West Virginia’s 93-61 win over Oklahoma on Saturday, Okonkwo finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-double of his career.
“I think I’m a lot more confident now, getting in a groove more,” Okonkwo said following Saturday’s performance. I think my positioning on the court is getting a little bit better and I think it’s all going to come with time.
In addition to playing better, Okonkwo has done it against the best competition in the country, as he has done his damage during Big 12 play.
Teammate Erik Stevenson has seen Okonkwo continue to get better saying, “he”s going to be a problem, that’s what he’s trying to say, he’s going to be a problem.”
Wether Okonkwo is a future problem or not, West Virginia’s front court is causing serious issues right now for opposing offenses.
KenPom’s advanced analytics look at block percentage — the percentage of opposing teams shots that get blocked. The Mountaineers rank 29th in the country in overall block percentage with 6.7 percent of opponents’ shots blocked, but in just conference play, West Virginia ranks first with 5.9 percent of opponents’ shots blocked in games.
Okonkwo’s emergence has also been seen on the offensive glass. KenPom’s analytics look at offensive rebounding percentage which West Virginia ranks 29th overall, but second in the country in conference play.
Looking at the numbers, it is no surprise that West Virginia has ranked as high as it has in offensive rebounding and block categories since the beginning of conference play as that has coupled with Okonkwo’s consistency.
In non-conference play (including Auburn on Jan. 28), Okonkwo played in 12 games, averaging 2.1 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game, and .58 blocks per game. In conference play, Okonkwo has played in nine games, averaging 3.1 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, and .78 blocks per game.
“He’s our most athletic big, and he’s probably our most talented,” West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said following the Texas Tech game where Okonkwo stuffed Tech’s Daniel Batcho for a dunk at the rim. “He just needs to do it on a consistent basis and he’s going to be in the lineup.”
That consistent basis is exactly what the statistics show for conference play. Across a 40-minute period, Okonkwo averaged 8.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per 40 minutes.
In conference play, Okonkwo’s numbers translate to 12.8 points, 15.2 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per 40 minutes.
With Okonkwo finding success it has also opened the door for the likes of Mohamed Wague — another young and talented big man who doesn’t have a ton of college experience.
Wague has eight blocks of his own in conference play, including three against Oklahoma on Saturday.
“They both just keep getting better and better,” Huggins said of Okonkwo and Wague. “They’re getting better because they play against each other everyday in practice. There’s a lot of contact with bigs like that, but the guys that are really good don’t have a lot of contact, and I think Mo (Wague) is starting to learn that going in and pushing on Jimmy (Bell) isn’t going to help him much, but he can use his length. He can use his footwork to be able to make up for that.”
Okonkwo and Wague have combined for 15 of West Virginia’s 40 blocks in Big 12 play, which is 38 percent of all blocks.
The numbers say West Virginia’s front court has done a good job. Don’t count out Jimmy Bell as he is averaging 6.1 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game this year. Bell also has 11 blocks on the season.
West Virginia has tried to shuffle with new more guard-dominant lineups. Having guys like Okonkwo, Wague, and occasionally Bell who can step up and protect the rim causes other teams to second guess going inside.
