Video: 6-foot-10, 250-pound seventh-grader Bright Okongwu workout and interviewCalvary Christian Academy seventh-grader working to improve under head coach Cilk McSweeney.It happens from time to time — a misprint on a MaxPreps team roster.
This
had to be one of those cases, a simple data entry error that suggested there was a 6-foot-10, 250-pound seventh-grader named
Bright Okongwu at
Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).
But a phone call to Calvary Christian Academy head coach Cilk McSweeney confirmed that Okongwu was accurately listed and, in McSweeney's mind, a budding phenom.
A native of Nigeria, Okongwu isn't eligible to play high school varsity basketball this season (middle schoolers playing high school ball is commonplace in Florida) but McSweeney believes he would be a major contributor right now for the Class 4A Eagles.
"He came over to the United States in July and it was just remarkable — 6-foot-10, 250 pounds at 12 years old," McSweeney said of Okongwu, who has since had a birthday and is now 13. "The way he moves and runs the floor, his touch, it's unteachable. I'm excited about the next six years."
A college player at Towson and Penn State who also spent time playing professionally overseas, McSweeney struggled to find a comparison for Okongwu.
"With his size at this young age, you look at Shaq and all these other guys that were his size," McSweeney said. "But the way he runs the floor and his hands, he's probably going to be one of a kind if he keeps working."
If his game develops as quickly as his mastery of English, look out. Okongwu had no problem articulating his goals for this spring and summer, when he will finally be able to hit the floor for live competition.
"(My goal is) to be No. 1 in this country, to work hard, play hard and get better every time," Okongwu said.
If Okongwu keeps putting in the work, his coach has no doubt that he'll be one of the best in the country.
"It's not a coincidence his parents named him Bright – his future is bright," McSweeney said.
