Bishop Kearney senior commits to SU

Posted at: 10/16/2012 4:03 PM | Updated at: 10/16/2012 6:08 PM
By: Robin De Wind | WHEC.com

A Bishop Kearney senior who has attracted the attention of dozens of top college coaches has made his decision.

Chinonso Obokoh says he wants to play for one of college basketball’s most winningest coaches, Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse Orange.

Obokoh never imaged when he came to the United States from his native Nigeria three years ago that he would have the opportunity to go to a Division I college like Syracuse to play basketball. He verbally committed this weekend to Jim Boeheim and the Syracuse program and says having this chance is a dream come true.

It was pretty common to see Division I coaches at Bishop Kearney basketball practice and at games last season. It was part of the routine for 6’9” senior Chinonso Obokoh who was getting looks from school all over the country, but it was a trip to Syracuse University this past weekend and a visit with Jim Boeheim at the Carrier Dome that made up his mind.

Chinonso Obokoh, verbally committed to SU, said, “It's a dream that nobody can pass off. I'm looking forward to paying for him.”

But Obokoh admits SU’s Whitman School of Management is what’s most important. He hopes to become an accountant and his dream when he came to United States from Nigeria where he left his family behind was to get a good education.

Jon Boon, Bishop Kearney Head Basketball Coach, said, “He's focused on his education and that basketball can be a tool for him. He's worked hard for him to stand here and talk he couldn't do that three years ago when he first got here.”

Obokoh said, “I wasn't thinking about it and what's going to happen. I was just focused on my education and all these things happened.”

Head basketball coach Jon Boon calls Obokoh the best he’s ever coached on and off the court. Obokoh will lead one of Section V’s biggest front courts this season with 6’8” sophomore Thomas Bryant and 6’10” junior Godspower Ogide.

Obokoh said, “I don’t know how to explain. It’s so big when you look at it. It was God’s plan.”

Obokoh’s family remains in Nigeria. He hopes to go back after graduation before heading off to school. His host family has been helping him with all the recruiting trips.

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