What We Talk About When We Talk About Jahlil Okafor

Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Friday night was not only the kickoff of the college basketball season, but also the moment NBA Draft-heads have been waiting patiently for: the moment where we get to point out Jahlil Okafor to all of our friends and family and say “See! See! I told you he was a 6-foot-10, nimble unicorn!”

Okafor helped Duke to a 113-44 dismantling of Presbyterian, putting up 19 points (9-10 FG), four rebounds, and a block in the process. Nothing screamed “freshman” about his game, nor did there appear to be any first collegiate game-jitters. Okafor looked completely in the moment throughout each possession, knowing when to work his defender down low and when to kick it back out to the wing. He immediately displayed the numerous methods of scoring that he has in his quiver, too. He had no problem attacking the rim for some dunks, while showing he could also quickly leave his defender in the dust by spinning past them.

Okafor did everything he needed to in his first game at Duke, and nothing more.

This guy will most likely be the closest thing to a “lock” of a number one draft pick that we will see this entire college basketball season. While other great players like Frank Kaminsky or Marcus Paige might ultimately win the Naismith College Player of the Year award, it’s going to be imperative to remember that Okafor didn’t chose to spend one year in Durham, North Carolina to win over media voters. He made the decision to learn under one of the greatest basketball minds that currently walks the planet in hopes of securing that first-overall NBA Draft pick. Okafor wants to play in the Association, and he will do whatever he feels is necessary to achieve that.

That’s what we talk about when we talk about Jahlil Okafor. As it is right now, his basketball ability is elite. Coach K will give some fine tuning where he can, but he knows just as much as we do that Jahlil is made for bigger things come April. Let’s not get caught up in the noise of him leading or not leading the conference in rebounding, or points per game, or any other silly stat to an entity like him. Okafor’s near future is the NBA, and we need to all just kick back and enjoy the show he’s going to give us this college basketball season.

It may not be as fun to watch him next year when he’s wearing a Sixers jersey.