New Rutgers basketball coach Eddie Jordan added some desperately needed depth to the Scarlet Knights’ depleted backcourt, in the form of shooting guard Nkereuwem “Kerwin” Okoro.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Okoro, a Bronx native who led St. Raymond’s to the 2012 CHSAA title.
“I’m a Scarlet Knight……#RutgersNation,” tweeted Okoro, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound shooting guard who will transfer from Iowa State.
Okoro will appeal to the NCAA for a hardship waiver, and in truth, he’s suffered through enough hardship and heartache in a year to last a lifetime. First, his 72-year-old father, Stanislaus, died in December of a stroke. Then two months later, his 28-year-old brother, Idiongo, passed away from colon cancer.
“He never hung his head about it, so I didn’t. He was being a role model at the same time, showing his strength in the process,” Okoro told the AP back in February.
Due to his family tragedies, Okoro missed 14 games this year to be back in New York with his family in the midst of the season. In the end, he averaged only 3.6 minutes and just one point per game, although he did play in four of Iowa State’s final 11 games, including the NCAA tournament victory over Notre Dame.
Ranked as the third-best player in the city in the Class of 2012, Okoro had led St. Raymond’s to the CHSAA title with 21 points, 10 boards and six blocks in the title game to earn playoff MVP honors.
After picking Iowa State over Arizona, Pittsburgh, St, John’s, Seton Hall and Texas A & M, Okoro — whose Twitter accounts says he’s “in a New York state of mind” — gets his homecoming on the other side of the Hudson with Rutgers.
“I’m currently at #TheNest .. Feels good to be back at St. Rays, a lot of memories and love here..my second home,’’ Okoro tweeted.
He’ll be considered a sophomore eligibility-wise, with three years to play two. And if Okoro does receive a hardship waiver — and it should be noted family issues are the most frequent reason the NCAA grants waivers — he’ll be able to play next season for Rutgers without sitting out a year.
The Scarlet Knights certainly need him. After Austin Johnson and Dane Miller exhausted their eligibility, then the Mike Rice scandal not only cost the disgraced former coach is job but precipitated a mass exodus that gutted the roster.
Eli Carter, Vincent Garrett, Mike Poole and Jerome Seagears all transferred, while The Post first reported that Derrick Randall had asked for and received his release as well. Incoming recruits Chris Griffin and Shane Rector reneged on their commitment, leaving the Scarlet Knights in dire straits.But Jordan — who has had to deal with the recent flap over not having his diploma — has done an outstanding job of fleshing out the roster in short order.
As The Post reported, he convinced Malick Kone (as well as JUCO recruit Craig Brown) to stay on, and also landed Washington, DC schoolboy recruit Junior Etou and JUCO transfer D’Von Campbell.Okoro’s transfer — if permitted to play immediately – would give Rutgers nine scholarship players in the fold. More important, he would join Myles Mack and Campbell as the only guards on the roster, with Brown more of a wing player