NCAA News Wire
Coach K: Okafor ‘not long’ for Duke
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated8 hours ago on April 19, 2024
Early projections have the No. 1 recruit in college basketball, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, as a leading candidate to be the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Wednesday he understands Okafor is not long for the Blue Devils. The 6-10, 265-pound center was named preseason player of the year by CBS Sports and chosen as a first-team preseason All-American.
“We won’t have him long,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ll have him this year and then he’ll be one of the top (NBA) picks.”
Okafor joined the Blue Devils just as another top recruit, forward Jabari Parker, was settling in with the Milwaukee Bucks. Parker was the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Okafor scored 15 points in Tuesday’s exhibition game.
“He’s really one of the great kids,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s 6-10, about 265. He has huge hands. So the ball is small in his hands. Part of that hurts him some because he’s accustomed to rebounding with one hand, and rebounding is better with two hands. But scoring-wise he’s able to do it. He’s got incredible touch and really good feet.”
