Shaka Smart is once again trying to pull players from this transfer portal, this time from out west. According to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, the Longhorns have reached out to Francis Okoro, who has spent two seasons at Oregon. 15 other schools including Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Purdue, Seton Hall, and Texas A&M have also reached out.
The junior forward from Nigeria has seen decent minutes during his time in Eugene but has failed to make a huge impact. In the 2019-2020 season, he played in 29 games while averaging 17 minutes. Okoro was able to produce an average of 3.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks.
Oregon transfer Francis Okoro tells me he's receiving interest from the following programs:
Illinois
Saint Louis
Purdue
Texas
Texas A&M
San Diego State
Drake
Houston
Marquette
Oklahoma
Seton Hall
Illinois State
Missouri
Southern Illinois
Northwestern
Western Kentucky— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 21, 2020
Listed at 6-9 and 235 pounds, Okoro is a big body forward is a physical athlete who has a solid presence inside the three-point arc offensively and defensively.
His best game of his career came in 2019 when he posted a career-high 12 points on 5-6 shooting and added another career-high with 17 rebounds against Montana.
With Greg Brown set to commit on Friday, the Longhorns going after Okoro could be an in case of emergency plan. The five-star forward from Austin is expected to choose between Texas, Memphis, and going professional.
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