Ohio State center transfer Felix Okpara committed to and signed with Tennessee basketball on Thursday just two days after officially visiting the Vols, he announced on Instagram.
A 6-foot-11, 235-pound center, Okpara started 34 game for the Buckeyes last season where he averaged 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Okpara is one of the best rim protectors not only in the transfer portal but in the country as a whole.
“We are thrilled to have Felix join us here on Rocky Top. He comes from a great family and is an exceptional teammate whose primary goal is to win,” Barnes said in a statement. “Felix is an elite shot blocker, high-level defender and terrific rebounder. He possesses the ability to score in the low post, as well as play on the perimeter. A mobile athlete with excellent length who creates space offensively, Felix is a constant threat to get to the rim for a lob. We will do everything we can to help him further develop all aspects of his game.”
The rising junior posted a 10.2% block rate last season, a mark that ranked 18th nationally and better than anyone on Tennessee’s roster.
On the offensive end, Okpara is a strong lob threat and plays with a physicality that makes him an effective finisher at the rim. The Lagos, Nigeria native’s offensive game has room to grow. He doesn’t score at a high clip on post up opportunities and doesn’t have a reliable jump shot at this point in his career. As a sophomore, Okpara shot 59% from both the field and the free throw line.
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Okpara is one of the top players available in the transfer portal, ranking as a four-star and the No. 35 player and No. 8 center in the portal according to 247sports and as a five-star and the No. 28 player in the portal according to EvanMiya.com.
The center originally announced plans to return to Ohio State for his junior season but after the Buckeyes added Kentucky big man transfer Aaron Bradshaw in the portal, Okpara entered the portal himself.
Okpara has an abundance of ties to Tennessee basketball. He was teammates with Tennessee guard Cam Carr in his senior prep season at Link Academy. Before that, Okpara played at Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, so he has ties to the Volunteer State.
