Ex-UNC Basketball Forward Enjoys Starting Role at New School

The lone outbound transfer from the 2023-24 UNC basketball squad is now averaging over 20 minutes per game.

UNC basketball forward James Okonkwo / Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Through only two outings as a first-year starter for the Akron Zips (1-1, 0-0 MAC), James Okonkwo has already matched his 43 minutes of playing time as a UNC basketball reserve forward last season. Plus, the 21-year-old's 15 points as a senior equal his total in his one-year Tar Heel campaign, which followed two seasons off the bench at West Virginia.

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Okonkwo is averaging 7.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks this go-round, shooting 63.6 percent from the field across his 21.5 minutes per game.

And on Friday night, Okonkwo helped power the Zips' first victory of the season, 88-57 at home over the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops, by putting together only his second double-digit scoring outing as a collegian. His 10 points tied the career high he set with the Mountaineers in February 2023.

He shot 5-for-6 from the field against Ohio Wesleyan while adding five rebounds, one steal, and three blocks.

In April, a few weeks after the UNC basketball season ended at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16, the 6-foof-8, 240-pounder from England announced his transfer to Akron for his final year in college. In doing so, Okonkwo ended up being the only 2023-24 Tar Heel to depart Chapel Hill via the portal.

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