From Walk-On to High Major: The Story of AK Okereke

Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco sits down with AK Okereke, a former Cornell walk-on, future high major player and 2026 NBA Draft prospect.

Nov 27, 2024; Syracuse, New York, USA; Cornell Big Red forward AK Okereke (12) drives against Syracuse Orange forward Chris Bell (4) during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

AK Okereke is a 6-foot-7, 240 pound junior at Cornell who helped lead the Big Red to the Ivy League Tournament finals. He averaged 13.9 points, 4.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks this past season while shooting 67.6% at the rim (148 attempts), 57.1% on non-rim twos (35 attempts), 79.3% from the free throw line (116 attempts), and 32.7% from beyond the arc (52 attempts) -- including 36.6% on catch-and-shoot threes (41 attempts).

Okereke was impactful on both ends of the floor. He was unassisted on 71.5% of his made field goals this past season while assisting an estimated 28.5% of his teammates' field goals when on the floor. On the other end of the floor, Okereke recorded a 2.3 steal percentage and 4.4 block percentage. Overall, he had the 25th-highest Box Plus-Minus amongst qualifying NCAA juniors (7.2 -- the same Box Plus-Minus as RJ Luis Jr).

The 21 year old wing has had an interesting path to becoming a star in the Ivy League and soon-to-be high major player, from enrolling at Cornell as a student, walking onto the team, improving his sophomore season, then exploding onto the scene with a Second-Team All-Ivy performance.

Table of Contents

1. Growing Up
2. First Stop: Clovis North High School & AAU
3. Second Stop: Golden State Prep
4. Third Stop: Cornell University
5. Next Stop: High Major Basketball
6. Next Goal: The NBA
7. Off the Court

Growing Up

Okereke grew up in Clovis, CA with four siblings -- one older brother, an older sister, and two younger brothers. Fresno County was the perfect balance for Okereke between big city and small town, and Okereke enjoyed his upbringing. His lifestyle was centered around family and his Catholic faith, two aspects of his life that are still most important to him today. Okereke's older brother, who played club basketball at Harvard and college basketball in graduate school at Durham University (UK), helped instill a sense of competition and basketball interest in Okereke early on.

"Playing against him helped me get a lot stronger -- both physically and mentally. I did a lot of losing against him until around my sophomore year of high school. From then on I was winning most of our matchups," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

First Stop: Clovis North High School & AAU

Okereke didn't have a straight-line path to being a dominant basketball player, but rather one that continuously tested his work ethic and passion for the game -- a test he continuously passed.

"In seventh grade, I was solid. In eighth grade, I didn't play that much -- which was frustrating. In ninth grade, I was on the freshman team and played well. Then sophomore year I was a role player on varsity. I had my first solid year my junior season and averaged around 13-14 points per game. That was when I realized I might be good enough to play in college."

Okereke credits Coach Amundsen, his high school coach, for taking a chance on him, allowing him to play varsity as a sophomore, and for playing him at guard -- allowing him to develop some of the ball-handling and playmaking skills he has today.

In addition to contributing on varsity, playing AAU basketball with EBL alongside guys like LeJuan Watts (Washington State) and AJ George (SMU) helped Okereke realize he could play Division I in the future.

Second Stop: Golden State Prep

After playing well his senior year, Okereke finished the season without any significant offers. With strong test scores and an impressive GPA, Okereke applied to the top schools in the country -- ultimately deciding between UCLA, Notre Dame, and Cornell solely as a student.

Okereke chose Cornell but decided to defer his admission and participate in a preparatory year at Golden State Prep -- a year he credits as the most important for his development by far.

"That was the first year I could put all my time into basketball and truly crafting my game. All day I'd be at the gym -- getting more agile, working on playmaking, dribbling, etc." Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

Okereke also played for Team Arsenal Basketball (AAU), which was when he received some Division II offers. Still, he decided to enroll at Cornell and bet on himself to one day make the team.

Third Stop: Cornell University

At one point during Okereke's senior year of high school, he had been recruited by current Head Coach Jon Jaques. However, no official offer of a roster spot materialized. Okereke reached back out in June 2022 after deferring his enrollment for a year -- however all of Cornell's roster spots remained filled. Okereke stepped foot on campus purely as an Ivy League student and economics major.

An opportunity presented itself in August 2022. A player had decided to leave the Cornell team, helping to pave the way for a potential roster spot for Okereke. He had an official workout for the team in October 2022.

"The workout started off well. I did some one-on-ones and was competing," Okereke told Draft Digest. "The last drill was a shooting drill though and I flopped it. I walked out and wasn't sure if I had made the team, but felt at peace that at least I was given the opportunity to have had a workout for them."

After a 20 minute walk back to his room, Okereke had forgotten his key somewhere and was locked out of his dorm. Figuring out what he should do next, Okereke coincidentally received a perfectly-timed call from Coach Jaques. Not knowing the situation Okereke was in, Cornell's Head Coach had called to invite him back to campus to practice with the team.

"I always joke that in an alternate universe I go inside the building, shower, miss the call, and there goes the opportunity," Okereke laughed. After practicing for a few weeks with team, Okereke ultimately earned his stripes and was called up prior to the team's first scrimmage.

Making the team is the relative beginning of Okereke's journey, however, and it's rare for a walk-on to eventually become the team's best player. By the end of his freshman season, despite only playing six minutes, Okereke had established himself as a true part of the roster.

"The most important thing for me was contributing on scout team. I'd have to mirror guys who they're about to play and I had a couple of good days where I showed I belonged and wasn't just a walk-on," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco. He also mentioned the importance of treating open runs they had with the same intensity as practice -- continuing his high level of play whenever on the floor.

Another aspect of Okereke's ability to establish himself and progress on the team was controlling what he could.

"In economics, there's endogenous and exogenous variables -- essentially things you can or can't control," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco. "The things I could control were my work ethic, being in the gym all the time, and also identifying others [Jake Fiegen and Adam Hinton] on the team with a similar mindset. This adds a different level of accountability. The things I couldn't control that helped were important players graduating or transferring and the team naturally needing players to fill the void of productivity and reliability that had left."

Overall, Okereke enjoyed his time at Cornell and especially valued how the alumni base was always looking to help him. He's a current junior but has always planned to graduate a year early, which he'll do in May.

"I came in with AP credits and wanted to save money financially, so it's always been the plan to graduate early," Okereke told Draft Digest. While his original plan a few years ago was to graduate early and work in finance, he now has his eyes on playing basketball at a prestigious academic institution and high major program.

From walk-on to one of the captains on the team, Okereke described himself as a leader by example.

"For leadership style, I lead more by example. The time spent in the gym and how I carry myself, I felt like I did a solid job of leading by example throughout the season. Naz [Williams] was more of our vocal leader and heart and soul of the team. Guy [Ragland Jr] was vocal at times and led by example, so we had a dichotomy of leadership styles amongst the captains that worked well," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

In addition to growing as a leader in the locker room, Okereke's development on the court has been tremendous throughout the past few seasons.

"One constant is my playmaking. I've had it since a kid and have grown that over time. One area I've gotten a lot better and put time into is my midrange game -- I brought it out a little bit last season but transformed it into a high percentage shot this season," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco. The impact of the work he's put into his midrange shot has been clear, as he he converted 57.1% of his non-rim twos (35 attempts) this past season.

Next Stop: High Major Basketball

Despite being the best player on Cornell and Second-Team All-Ivy, Okereke knows there's still aspects of his game he can continue to work on as he enters high major play.

"Going to the next level, [I've been working on] agility and athleticism. I'm a good athlete for the Ivy League but I'll be transferring up to a level and conference where prospects are on a higher level when it comes to athleticism. I'm also working on my consistency on catch-and-shoot and off the dribble threes," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

While there's always room for improvement, Okereke already has the ability to contribute to winning basketball. More specifically, Okereke believes he has a few strengths he can immediately provide to a high major team.

"Besides playmaking, it's defensive versatility. Being able to move my feet has gotten better over the years. Being able to guard multiple positions is something I can provide and continuing to get better at that with better foot speed and quickness. As that continues to improve, so does my defensive ceiling. But I can guard 1-4 at the high major level at the moment," Okereke tells Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

Okereke was able to showcase his skillset within the Cornell system, and playing for another program will offer unique opportunities to showcase other aspects of his game he's been working on. When asked if there's anything in particular he's excited to showcase, Okereke mentioned his one-on-one game he's been working on.

"If I had to choose something, I'd say my overall one-on-one game. Within the [Cornell] offense there were times you could go one-on-one but, for the most part, you stay within the offense and had to have the discipline to do so. High major there's more isolation-type plays. Showcasing that part of my game and breaking down guys in one-on-one scenarios then if no one helps showing I can score at that level and also finding the open man if they do help," Okereke told Draft Digest.

Next Goal: The NBA

Performing at a high level this upcoming season would lead to NBA looks and, while the focus is on this upcoming season first and foremost, Okereke has a few favorite player comparisons. When asked who he compared his game to, he mentioned Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam.

"I like Pascal Siakam -- lot of similarities there. Firstly on defense being able to guard basically everyone, there's no position [Siakam] can't guard. Offensively similarities are that Siakam's pretty good at playmaking, can handle it as more of a point forward, and the development of his shot. The consistency in the midrange and even his three point shot," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco.

Siakam is one comparison Okereke likes, but the former Cornell standout also tries to model his game after Jayson Tatum and Paul George.

"Down the line, I would have to go with a Paul George -- a Fresno State guy. More of a Tatum/Paul George where their shot creation is so unqiue that they can basically get any shot they want. They're both deadly shooters and as I develop that side of my game more and could lead to that jump is where that comp makes more sense," Okereke told Draft Digest.

With Okereke's current positive trajectory, there's no limit to the player he can develop into.

Off the Court

Outside of basketball, Okereke likely has one of the most impressive resumes in college sports. Just as Okereke's brother helped influence his interest in basketball, his brother also gave him the rundown on the finance world. With an interest in the field, Okereke decided to start a small investing club at his high school since no one else was doing it. Additionally, Okereke still has an interest in finance -- he did a sales and trading internship last summer and even received a return offer. Okereke and his brother also write newsletters on venture capital. However, Okereke's sales and trading internship painted the picture for him that finance professionals' commitment to finance was what his own passion for basketball was like.

A dedicated student and basketball player, Okereke's purpose is centered around two main things: family and his catholic faith.

"Faith has been super important my entire life. Understanding there's more to life than basketball, money, finance -- having that humble you is important. Understanding what's more important than all of this and that's your salvation. I pray before every game," Okereke told Draft Digest's Jordan Monaco. "Family -- what they've given and everything they've done for me to help me get to where I'm at. If I might be struggling with something I keep them in mind. I try to be a role model to my two younger brothers as well."

Outside of faith and family, Okereke has had a few others greatly impact his life. One group of people are some of his high school friends -- specifically Oshin, Brenton, and Duncan.

"When I was a sophomore and averaged three points per game for my high school team, Oshin would be like 'when go to NBA you gotta do this and that.' It helped give me the confidence that I wasn't a random kid from a high school team but that I could really play," Okereke told Draft Digest.

Another person was Okereke's AAU coach, Demetrius Porter.

"He saw something in me before I even did. He told me I deserved to play D1 and I was one of the best players in the city. It was important in building my confidence and helping me understand I could reach and accomplish my goals."

Lastly, Okereke has had a handful of meaningful experiences that have impacted his life and helped influence him as a basketball player. Back at Clovis North High School, Okereke's last game was against Chaminade. They had two standout players in KJ Simpson (Charlotte Hornets) and Keith Higgins (Lehigh) and was the best team they had played. Okereke scored around 35 points in that game and was a final emphasis for hiim that maybe he could play Division I.

Overall, Okereke's story of hard work and determination serves as motivation for any person pursuing their basketball dream. With an NBA frame, legitimate skillset, and feel for the game, AK Okereke is a legitimate NBA prospect to monitor this upcoming season.

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