Stanford head coach Kyle Smith addresses Ebuka Okorie’s NBA Draft stock
After Stanford’s 95-75 Senior Night victory over SMU, head coach Kyle Smith addressed the topic of freshman Ebuka Okorie’s future regarding the NBA Draft. Below is what Smith said:
“We talked a little bit and basically I told him, I said hey enjoy this ride. I said first of all in this day and age you really don’t have that much to worry about. I honestly said that. I said look for a freshman, first I was like hey academically and socially adjusting to college is important to you. Then we realize ok, he’s a pretty special player and like I said, we got to where I gave him the cardinal rules for point guard and as they, just read these every game before every game. He’s really blossoming growing. I said, I kind of give him some markers I said when we signed him, I said Jamaree Bouyea is who you remind me of and I said we’d love to have what, Jamaree Bouyea would be a great player in our program.
“Then about quickly thereafter, I said well, I don’t know if Jamaree would be doing this now. He’s in the NBA. I mean, he’s like scoring and I was like, you know, with the rev sharing and that stuff, he’s got a great situation and you know he has all the leverage, whatever he wants to do; but I think and my pitch to him has been you want to be, he’s only 18. I don’t think he turns 19 ‘til April. I think you want to be in a place where you are leading a team and getting the most minutes to develop what you wanna be as a pro and essentially we’re pros now they’re getting paid.
“So I think Stanford is the best option, but I just kind of said that, that’s true. I said like look you’re leading the team, you’re 19, but now if someone in the NBA says hey we’re going to take you at 12 and you’re our starting point guard, well that’s something to consider, but and I mean that like the sense like, let me talk about, but like Terrell Terry, who was awesome player, it didn’t work out and that’s ok. It’s a different time though. It was a different pressure there’s not the same financial pressure to do it. So go when you’re ready and maybe he’ll go through the process and they’ll make a good, he’ll make a good informed decision.
“I haven’t had a guy that’s been more coachable on that stuff. I told him before the first game, I said there’s going to be a lot of people tugging at you. Agents, media, teammate and he is boom. To Zach’s dismay, he’s like I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to do that. I’m like ohh he’s coachable. I like this guy, you know. But it’s true. He has a goal, he has a mission, he comes in he’s disciplined. So you know I think, he’s got the world ahead of him and I’d say the same thing go at your own pace. You control the situation. Don’t let the situation control you.
“So yeah, I’ve had the conversation and I think he’ll, you know, he’ll make a decision. He’s gonna be the best he can be and if it’s the right time he’ll make a good decision. As long as it’s NBA versus Stanford. We know that’s the goal.”
From what Smith said, it’s clear that he’s totally supportive of Okorie exploring the NBA route while at the same time stressing that if he is to stay in school, Stanford is the right spot for him due to the education, revenue share, and chance to be the featured guy on the team. NBADraft.net has Okorie as a late first round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft, so they’re banking on him returning to school for one more year.
Personally, Okorie strikes me as a two and done kind of a guy. I’d be surprised to see him play three or more years of college basketball while at the same time, I think one more year of college basketball would probably do him some good in terms of preparing for the NBA. At the same time, he’s averaging 22.7 points per game. Most guys who are averaging that many points as freshmen leave for the NBA. So, we’ll just have to see how aggressively he tests the draft waters and if he does test those waters, what kind of feedback he gets.
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