Emeka Okafor, a former UConn great, now is a college basketball analyst and will call a game in Syracuse next week.
It seems only fitting, somehow, the former UConn standout Emeka Okafor will make his debut as an ESPN college basketball game analyst on Nov. 18 in Syracuse, N.Y.
He will be on the call when Monmouth visits Syracuse, UConn’s rival from the Old Big East in his generation. ESPN said he will work games in several conferences throughout the season.
He knows Syracuse as well as any team, probably.
Unbelievably, he played just four regular season games for the Huskies against Syracuse, but to Orange fans, it’s got to seem like more than that. He was omnipresent.
In those four games, he averaged 13.5 points, 10.25 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 31.5 minutes – very close to his career averages. The Huskies won three of four.
Okafor played 103 games for the Huskies from 2001-04 and had career averages of 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.1 blocks. He led the Big East in blocked shots in each of his three seasons in Storrs.
In his junior – and final – season, he led the conference in field goal percentage (59.9%), total rebounds (11.5) and 4.1 blocks per game.
He was a first-team All-American to lead his long list of honors for 2003-04:
- Big East Defensive Player of the Year
- Big East Player of the Year
- NABC Defensive Player of the Year
- NABC Division I Player of the Year
- NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year
- NCAA All-Tournament Team
- NCAA Tournament All-Region
- NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Post-Big East
Okafor, now 43, was the No. 2 overall pick by the then-Charlotte Bobcats in 2004 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year when he averaged 15.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
He played with the Bobcats (2004-09), New Orleans Hornets (2009-12) and Washington Wizards (2012-13) before missing the following season due to a herniated disc. He remained out of the NBA for three more seasons before playing 26 games (19 starts) in a partial final season in 2017-18 with the New Orleans Pelicans.
He retired with NBA career averages of 12.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol (16) is fouled while shooting by New Orleans Pelicans center Emeka Okafor (50) during the first half at AT&T Center in San Antonio on March 15, 2018. Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn ImagesOkafor was one of five men’s college basketball analysts added by the ESPN networks, which will televise nearly 700 games in the 2025-26 season.
Other new voices are former North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts, former Georgia Tech All-American Dennis Scott, 1997 national champion Miles Simon, and former Texas head coach Rodney Terry.
Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas return as the top team and will be assigned marquee men’s games on ESPN and ABC, including on the “Saturday Prime” franchise. Kris Budden is on board as lead men’s basketball reporter.
Dick Vitale is back for his 46th season.
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