Rick Barnes: Felix Okpara brings physicality in the post that the Vols haven't 'consistently had there'
Felix Okpara will Tennessee Basketball more than just size in the post. The 6-foot-11 Ohio State transfer center will give the Vols physicality, too. That’s something Rick Barnes said his team hasn’t had enough of in the post, at least not consistently.
“He brings us a physicality that we love to have, that we haven’t consistently had there,” Barnes said Wednesday during the Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga. “With what we’ve seen and the way we evaluated him, I think he’s got some untapped ability offensively.”
Okpara was one of the answers for the Vols out of the NCAA Transfer Portal after junior center Jonas Aidoo left for Arkansas and sophomore power forward Tobe Awaka went to Arizona.
Tennessee announced the signing of Okpara last week and on Monday added a commitment from 6-foot-10 Charlotte forward Igor Milicic Jr.
Felix Okpara last season: 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks per game
Okpara in 35 games at Ohio State last season averaged 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 23.5 minutes per game. He spent two seasons with the Buckeyes, blocking 127 shots in 70 games, including a career-high 83 last season.
“He runs, he’s strong,” Barnes said. “And being around him, he’s impressed me with the fact that he’s got a real competitive edge about him. That’s going to fit in well with our guys.”
Aidoo was one of seven roster changes since Tennessee’s season ended with the Elite Eight loss to Purdue on March 31 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
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The Vols lost three fifth-year seniors — Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi — while Aidoo and Awaka were joined by redshirt freshmen Freddie Dilione and DJ Jefferson in the Transfer Portal. Dilione signed with Penn State and Jefferson is going to Longwood.
The addition of Milicic and Okpara followed the signing of Hofstra transfer wing Darlinstone Dubar, the first move made by the Vols on the transfer market in April.
‘We’re going to try to not put him in a box, get him to do more than maybe he thinks he can’
Okpara was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle, ranked No. 69 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. He was ranked as the No. 9 center nationally and the No. 4 player in the state of Missouri, where he attended Link Year Prep.
Okpara also attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga and was heavily recruited by Tennessee as a prep prospect. Now Barnes can’t wait to work with him in Tennessee’s new-look post.
“He’s like a lot of guys his size,” Barnes said. “He’s just kind of scratching the surface in terms of where he can be. But he showed us he can do a lot. We’re going to try to not put him in a box, get him to do more than maybe he thinks he can.”
