Stan Okoye facts for kids
Okoye in 2014
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| MoraBanc Andorra | ||||||||||||||
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| Small forward / shooting guard | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | April 10, 1991 Raleigh, North Carolina |
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| Nationality | American / Nigerian | |||||||||||||
| High school | Knightdale (Knightdale, North Carolina) |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | VMI (2009–2013) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2013 / Undrafted | |||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2013–present | |||||||||||||
| League | Liga ACB | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Barak Netanya | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | Perth Redbacks | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Varese | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Matera | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Trapani | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Udinese | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Varese | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Zaragoza | |||||||||||||
| 2019–2021 | Gran Canaria | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Zaragoza | |||||||||||||
| 2022 | SIG Strasbourg | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Scafati Basket | |||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Andorra | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Stanley Onyekachukwu Okoye (born April 10, 1991) is a professional basketball player from Nigeria. He plays for MoraBanc Andorra in the Liga ACB, which is a top league in Spain. Stan is 6 feet 6 inches tall and plays as a swingman, meaning he can play both small forward and shooting guard. He was named the best player in the Big South Conference in 2013 while playing college basketball for Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Contents
High School Hoops Career
Stan Okoye grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. He went to Knightdale High School from 2005 to 2009. During his four years there, he scored over 1,300 points. He also grabbed more than 550 rebounds. Both of these numbers are school records!
In one playoff game, Stan scored an amazing 42 points. His high school team, Knightdale, won 73 games while he was playing. Even with all these great achievements, only two top college basketball programs offered him scholarships. These were Campbell University and VMI. Campbell later took back their offer, so VMI was his only choice. Stan decided to go to VMI.
College Basketball Journey
Stan started playing for the Keydets at VMI in the fall of 2009. At first, college life was tough for him. It was especially hard at a military school, where older students put a lot of pressure on freshmen.
Stan even thought about quitting before playing his first game. But his teammates helped him stay. He said he stuck with it because of the other players. He thought, "If they could handle it, I could too."
Freshman Year Success (2009–10)
In his first year, Stan was a star among freshmen in the Big South Conference. He led all freshmen in points scored and shooting accuracy. In games against other conference teams, he also led in blocks. For the whole season, he averaged 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team.
Growing as a Player (2010–12)
As a sophomore in 2010–11, Stan got even better. He improved his points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game. By the end of his second year, he had scored 933 points in his college career.
In his junior year, Stan was named to the Second Team All-Conference. In Big South games, he averaged 19.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. He helped his team reach the championship game of the Big South tournament. However, they lost to UNC Asheville.
Senior Year Standout (2012–13)
Stan had an amazing senior season in 2012–13. He averaged 21.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Before the season, he was picked as the best player in the conference. He then won that award at the end of the season too!
Stan led the Big South in both scoring and rebounding. He was named the conference's Player of the Week five times. VMI lost in the conference tournament, ending their chances for a bigger postseason tournament. Stan finished his college career with 2,146 points and 962 rebounds. He also had 212 assists, 152 steals, and 103 blocks.
Playing Pro Basketball
After college, Stan Okoye started his professional basketball career.
Early Professional Teams (2013–2016)
On August 13, 2013, Stan signed with Ikaros in Greece. But he left before playing any games there. On October 27, 2013, he signed with Barak Netanya in Israel. He only played four games for them before leaving in November 2013.
In February 2014, Stan joined the Perth Redbacks in Australia for the 2014 State Basketball League season. He had a great debut game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He played in all 30 games for the Redbacks. He averaged 28.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
In August 2014, Stan signed with Pallacanestro Varese in Italy. He played 23 games for them. In August 2015, he signed with Bawer Matera, another Italian team. In February 2016, he moved to Pallacanestro Trapani for the rest of that season.
Moving Around Europe (2016–Present)
Stan signed with Udinese in 2016. On May 27, 2017, he returned to his former team, Pallacanestro Varese.
In July 2018, Stan played for the Denver Nuggets in the 2018 NBA Summer League. This is a special league where NBA teams try out new players. On July 28, he signed a one-year deal with Tecnyconta Zaragoza in Spain's Liga ACB.
On July 31, 2019, Stan signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria, another Spanish team. He played there for two seasons. On July 13, 2021, he signed with Zaragoza again.
On July 27, 2022, Stan signed with SIG Strasbourg in France. Then, on December 6, 2022, he moved to Scafati Basket in Italy. Most recently, on July 11, 2023, he signed with MoraBanc Andorra in Spain.
Playing for His Country
Stan Okoye has also played for the senior men's Nigeria national basketball team. He represented Nigeria in the AfroBasket tournaments in 2013 and 2015. AfroBasket is the main basketball competition for national teams in Africa.
See also
In Spanish: Stan Okoye para niños
