STARKVILLE — It’s always important to get noticed
At 6-foot-5, Chinwe Okorie will find it easier to attract attention than some of her Mississippi State women’s basketball teammates.
But just because Okorie is MSU’s biggest player this season doesn’t mean it has been easy for her to get people to talk about her on game days.
The freshman from Lagos, Nigeria, came to MSU from Stoneleigh-Burnham (Mass.) Prep School and was expected to provide valuable depth on the frontline for second-year head coach Vic Schaefer. Unfortunately, MSU is still awaiting a ruling from the NCAA about Okorie’s eligibility, so Okorie has had to make her impression on the Bulldogs in practice.
Schaefer showed Thursday at the team’s HailState Hoops luncheon that Okorie is fitting even though she hasn’t played a minute. Not only did Schaefer refer to the danger of Okorie’s elbows, but he also did his best to imitate the deep voice of his freshman center. Both instances showed a different side of Okorie that Schaefer feels is benefiting the Bulldogs daily in practice. MSU (13-3, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) will attempt to put what it learned in those latest practices with Okorie to use at 2 p.m. today when it takes on Arkansas (14-2, 1-2). WKBB-FM 100.9 will broadcast the game locally. HailStateTV subscribers can get the live audio stream at www.hailstate.com/hstvlive.
“Her presence, her size, her physicalness really affects practice every day,” Schaefer said. “It is unfortunate she can’t play right now because I think her impact on our team would be tremendous, but she is a wonderful kid, a caring young lady who is high character. I am really excited about her future here and what she is going to bring to the table.”
Okorie admits not being able to play has been tough, but she said she gets past those thoughts by putting that toughness into practice to get better and to help her teammates get better. She said her teammates have helped her feel at home and have eased her transition. It’s easy to see Okorie fits in with her teammates because she is quick to flash a smile or to clown around prior to a team picture as a sign of the team’s chemistry.
“I have never for one day felt out of this family,” said Okorie, who missed time earlier this season with a foot injury. “I have never felt like I am not a part of them playing, not playing, being injured, having to sit out of practice. I have never for one day felt like I am being cut short from the relationship we all share. There is just joy.”
Schaefer hasn’t decided if Okorie will play this season if the NCAA declares her eligible, but he said it is likely she will redshirt given the team is more than halfway through the season. Without Okorie and forward Carnecia Williams, who hasn’t been with the team since the preseason due to personal issues, the Bulldogs have only four true post players — Martha Alwal, Sherise Williams, Breanna Richardson, and Ketara Chapel. Williams is a sophomore, while Richardson and Chapel are freshmen.
Schaefer said Okorie has handled the disappointment of not being able to play very well. He credits her for being mature beyond her years, in part due to the fact she hasn’t seen her mother in two years. He said she is an “appreciative young lady” who embraces the opportunity she has in Starkville.
Schafer attempted to bring that point home in a moment of levity when he referenced a recent phone call he received from Okorie. He started out by mimicking Okorie’s deep voice as he related the story of an alarm going off in the MSU dormitories and Okorie not being able to get in touch or to find two of her teammates. When Schaefer contacted the players, one was taking a nap and the other acknowledged the alarm was “just a drill” and it didn’t matter if she left her room.
The other example Schaefer highlighted during his speech at the luncheon involved Okorie’s elbows. If you have seen Okorie on the MSU sidelines, you know she has a long wingspan is one of the biggest and most athletic players the program has had in recent years. That’s why it shouldn’t have been surprising for Schaefer to hear Chapel had to miss a couple of days after running into her Okorie’s eight elbow. The move was by no means intentional, but it showed what kind of practice presence Okorie has been in the paint going against Alwal, a 6-4 junior center.
Okorie showed how she can be an immovable force in the preseason. In one of the team’s first practices of the season, Alwal careened down the floor and tried to dislodge Okorie from the paint by running into her. Okorie didn’t budge. A year ago, Alwal might have broken from the contact, but going against Okorie every day has helped prepare the slender Alwal for the battles of the SEC.
“With Chinwe, just the physicalness of practice every day is really where Martha has a chance to grow,” Schaefer said. “Hopefully, she will.”
Okorie said going against Alwal is helping her, too. She said Alwal’s length and ability to block shots has taught her how to alter her shots so she can be effective when she faces equally tall opponents. She hopes it has been the same way for Alwal.
“I think it is more of an admiration and strategy, teaching them about the game,” Okorie said. “Every time I am in the paint my hands are up. It is making them used to the fact they might play against a team that might have a center who has her hands up in the air and they would know how to attack.”
Given what the Bulldogs know about Chapel’s experience with Okorie’s elbow, it is a little surprising they have been aggressive as they have taking the ball to the basket. MSU leads the nation in free throws made (378) and free throws attempted (522). Still, Okorie uses her length to tell players “don’t come into the paint” and to dare the Bulldogs to come into her area and score. For someone who has yet to play her first minute, that time in practice is another way Okorie is making her teammates and coaches notice her.
“My coaches always tell me, ‘That is your house,’ ” Okorie said. “No matter if we are home or away, that is your paint, your house. No one is coming in there. If they have to come in there, they have to work for it. I am not going to stop working for it, either. I am going to keep working hard for it, too, and working hard to stop them from coming in there.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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