Chuma Okeke is getting his chance and now shining for the Orlando Magic after sitting out all of last season with an injury.
Things were going quite well for Chuma Okeke and the Auburn Tigers in spring 2019.
The Tigers defeated Tennessee 84-64 to win their first SEC Tournament championship in 34 years thanks in large part to 18 points, 3 steals, and 13 rebounds from Okeke. His NBA draft stock was surging and all signs indicated that he would be Auburn’s next lottery pick.
Auburn entered the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the No.5 seed in the Midwest region. After the Tigers narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of New Mexico State it appeared to many that their road to the Final Four would be near impossible with 4-seed Kansas, 1-seed North Carolina, and 2-seed Kentucky standing in their way.
The morning that Auburn faced off against Kansas in the second round of the tournament there were three perfect brackets remaining. Unfortunately for one of those brackets, the Tigers couldn’t miss and Kansas fell 89-75 thus ruining that individual’s perfect bracket.
The Jayhawks season came to an abrupt end at the hands of Bryce Brown, Jared Harper, and Okeke. Kansas head coach Bill Self struggled to scheme around the Tigers’ sharpshooting point guard duo in Brown and Harper who combined for 43 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists against the Jayhawks. It was a futile effort on Self’s part as Auburn’s offensive firepower surged through Okeke who was averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 steals, and 5 rebounds per game.
As the Tigers headed into the Sweet Sixteen to take on North Carolina there was one perfect bracket remaining. The bracket belonged to 40-year-old neuropsychologist Gregg Nigl who had managed to correctly pick 49 games in a row. His bracket would have been busted by Auburn’s victory over North Carolina, but it was the Purdue Boilermakers thrilling overtime win over Tennessee that occurred first.
I watched the Auburn vs North Carolina game with my father. With 8:08 remaining in the second half we knew Auburn was up big, but had somehow lost at the same time. Okeke collided with UNC’s Cameron Johnson beneath the basket before falling hard to the floor. I don’t remember the fall, I just remember Okeke screaming while grabbing his knee before he was escorted to the locker room and taken for x-rays.
Okeke exited the game with 20 points, 2 steals, and 11 rebounds. I knew then that was the last time we’d see Okeke play in an Auburn uniform.
The Tigers went on to defeat Kentucky in the Elite Eight to advance to the first Final Four in program history. I vividly remember shots of Anfernee McLemore shooting free throws against Virginia and mouthing to himself, “do it for Chuma.” The Tigers fell to Virginia in Minneapolis, but the benchmark for success within Auburn basketball was officially set and Chuma Okeke was an integral part of it.
As the dust of the NCAA Tournament had settled and the NBA Draft drew closer, it was apparent that Okeke’s torn ACL would hurt his chances at being a lottery pick. The Orlando Magic knew exactly what type of player they would get in Okeke and took him 16th overall in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
ESPN analyst Mike Schmitz announced that it was, “the steal of the draft.”
And boy was he right. After a one year stint with Orlando’s G-league affiliate in Lakeland, the Orlando Magic announced that they had officially signed Okeke. In the last five games Okeke has recorded a total of 79 points (22-point career high vs Portland), 6 steals, and 29 rebounds (10-rebound career high vs New Orleans). The Magic have gone 3-2 in those five games proving Okeke as a catalyst for success at the professional level.
He’s back to where he was before that tragic fall in the second half against North Carolina. For Okeke the road to where he is now has consisted of two years of rehab, perseverance, and patience. The opportunity that Chuma Okeke has worked and prayed for is now.
Welcome back big Chum!
