Ohio State center transfer Felix Okpara suspended his recruitment on Friday and was in the transfer portal for just five days before signing with Tennessee Basketball.
It was a simple recruitment for Okpara. Tennessee had the familiarity, opportunity and coaching staff, and it meshed well.
“For me, it was one, it was close to home, and two, after talking to the coaching staff and talking to Coach Barnes, he really wanted the best for the players and made a connection with the players. It's about being a real person who wants to be like that.'' It's also about coaching them and making them better people and better players,'' Okpala told RTI on Friday afternoon.
Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Okpara moved to Chattanooga before her freshman year of high school and remains very close with her host family. Both of his parents went to Tennessee, so Okpara was no stranger to Tennessee's campus when he visited the school on an official visit earlier this week.
The 6-foot-11, 235-pound center's goal was to impress his team and coaches. Okpala left impressed with Vols head coach Rick Barnes and his integrity.
“He pretty much tells me the truth, what I need to work on and what he can help me work on, and how they predict me and how. He taught me how to be a better player,” Okpala said of Barnes. “I feel like a lot of coaches don't tell you that, but when you're around him, you feel like you can trust him. His performance, the way he interacts with (the players) and the players trust him. I can see how you appreciate it.”
Okpala also spoke to Tennessee director of player development Brian Lentz, who recruited Okpala to the Vols since high school and works with the big men, and assistant coach Rod, who has ties to the MOKAN Elite AAU program where Okpala played.・He also has a relationship with Mr. Clark.
More from RTI: What's next for Tennessee Basketball in the transfer portal after Felix Okpara leaves?
After playing his first three seasons at Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, Okpara played his final season of high school at Link Academy in Missouri, where he became teammates with Tennessee guard Kam Carr. This marks a new connection between him and the Vols.
“We always had the kickoff,” Okpara said of Kerr. “I asked him before the visit what the coaches were like and he just gave me an overview and told me how everything was going. It's great to have guys like that. Yo.”
Okpara has two years of eligibility remaining after playing his freshman and sophomore seasons at Ohio State. The center started 34 games for the Buckeyes, averaging 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
Tennessee's newest center was one of the top players in the transfer portal, ranking as a 4-star, No. 36, No. 8 center and a 5-star, No. 30, No. 1 center, according to 247sports. According to EvanMiya.com, 6 centers on the portal.
Okpala is an elite defensive player, one of only five college basketball players to block 80 shots last season. The rest of that list includes Zach Eady, Donovan Clingan, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Clifford Omoruyi. He joins a Tennessee roster that lost its top two big men to the transfer portal. This means Okpara fills a huge need on the Vols' roster.
Already an elite defensive player, Okpara's goal is to develop as an offensive threat in his first season at Tennessee.
“Really, just to get more comfortable offensively. Get my body right,” Okpala said of his offseason goals. “This is one of the key steps I will focus on this offseason and into the season.”