OU forward Jeff Nwankwo: 'Not going anywhere'
The first day of the transfer portal opened Monday, and OU took a couple of blows. Maybe not massive shots that will derail the following season, but a rough initial perception.
But then there was Jeff Nwankwo. For any OU fans looking for good news, Nwankwo delivered just that Monday evening.
Simply put – ‘not going anywhere’ is what Nwankwo posted on social media. Nwankwo was expected to be one of those feel-good stories of the season.
A high school football star who began his college career on the gridiron, Nwankwo switched to basketball. He took the hard route, going to junior college. However, he was sensational and caught the eye of the Sooners.
Nwankwo arrived in Norman last spring and quickly became a name to watch. He was one of the best all-around players in early summer workouts before tearing his Achilles tendon. Nwankwo would miss the entire season.
He should be just fine for season coming up, and it’s the first piece of positive news for head coach Porter Moser.
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Yes, you have to win April and May with Name, Image, Likeness. But you need retention and retaining someone like Nwankwo is a great start.
“That’s how you build it, to retention,” Moser told SoonerScoop before the season. “That’s the biggest challenge coaches have in all sports, is to where they… You can have it to where they’re not looking elsewhere…. And how you want to grow old is you bring ’em up through the program.
“And then when they’ve been there two years and new guys are coming in, like, ‘This is how we do things. This is how we act. We value all these important things here at Oklahoma.’ And that’s what happens when you grow old together. It’s been a huge challenge, and we’re going to continue to have that be our goal.”
Luke Northweather and Yaya Keita both entered the portal Monday. However, Nwankwo’s declaration is easily the biggest piece of news from the first day of the window. Biggest, best and positive.
