In middle school, Peabody native Oluchi Okananwa said she grew too tall for gymnastics and decided to focus on basketball instead. After a little while, she believed she could be “pretty good at it” and, years later, has committed to Duke University.
Okananwa made her decision on Thursday night at the Torigian Family YMCA, just down the street from where she grew up. With friends, family, and fans in attendance, it’s safe to say the Duke women’s basketball program just got better.
Okananwa is the No. 1 ranked player in New England, and No. 7 nationally. The guard played at Peabody High School her freshman year – winning the Northeastern Conference Player of the Year off the bench – before taking her talents to New Hampton, then Worcester Academy.
The reason she kept moving from school to school: competition. Her godfather, Chris Collins, a well-known sports host, said Okananwa could’ve won four Player of the Year awards if that’s the path she wanted, but “that wasn’t her story,” he said.
“She wanted to play with better people; she wanted to play against better people,” Collins said.
Okananwa also played for a club team, the Lady Rivals, a member of the Adidas 3SSB league. The Lady Rivals are arguably the preeminent spots for women’s basketball players in the North and South shores. 100 of the organization’s athletes have gone on to play basketball at the collegiate level.
Her head coach, Ushearnda Stroud, remembers seeing Okananwa for the very first time.
“A very athletic, young kid that had a lot of energy, needed refinement, and didn’t understand the level of where she wanted to play,” Stroud said. “And she bought in. The sky was the limit for her.”
Stroud, Austin Prep’s newly-announced head coach, said Okananwa came to her one day and asked what she needed to do to improve, reach her potential, and eventually play at a Power Five school.
Stroud, or “Coach U,” told her that on top of everything she’s doing at her high school practices, she also needed to do a designed workout from Stroud once everyone else left the gym – Okananwa obliged.
“She’s got an innate drive to always thrive. She will never accept complacency,” Stroud said. “Settling is not an option. She’s going to bring a level of athleticism, a level that she can guard one through four.”
Now, she’s a Blue Devil. Okananwa said the biggest factor in her decision was Duke Head Coach Kara Lawson.
“What she’s [Lawson] building at Duke is going to shock the world. I’d be foolish to not join what she’s building.”
From the moment she steps foot inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium, Okananwa feels there’s no adjustment period, and that it’s go time once she laces up her shoes.
“On day one, they are getting my absolute all,” Okananwa said. “The goal is to help them win in any way I can.”
Some might say it’s her playmaking; some might say it’s her speed. But for Okananwa, she believes her biggest strength is something on the inside.
“My biggest strength is my motor. I keep going when everyone’s done,” Okananwa said.
In the classroom, Okananwa is thinking about studying engineering. And on the court, she holds other goals – ones of champions.
“To go win a national championship for Duke University,” Okananwa said.
