Duke forward Jahlil Okafor believes in mermaids

ByCameron La Fontaine|

Nov 15, 2014; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Jahlil Okafor (15) reacts after scoring against the Fairfield Stags at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Duke forward Jahlil Okafor may have some problems getting drafted out of the NCAA if he continues to think that mermaids are real.

Duke freshman forward Jahlil Okafor has made a huge splash in the NCAA this year averaging over 18 points per game and over nine rebounds per game on one of the best teams, playing against the best teams. But, Okafor is side-tracked, making a huge splash into the unknown world of mermaids, a creature he believes is real.

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Jahlil Okafor sat down with Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal and Cohen got a taste of an Okafor personality we haven’t seen before. Okafor told Cohen that he enjoys watching Netflix and documentaries whenever he’s not playing basketball, especially ones about the unknown.

“Okafor is obsessed with Netflix,” Cohen said. “He keeps a teenager’s diet of action movies and soapy television series, but his secret soft spot is for documentaries about odd phenomena—the weirder, the better. Okafor is well-versed in the legend of Bigfoot, for example. He also likes mermaids.

“That’s always been my interest,” Okafor said. “Things of the unknown.”

"He has a taste for the mythical. Okafor has tipped multiple people off to a Discovery Channel special that promised new evidence that mermaids are real.“I tried to tell them,” he said. “They wouldn’t listen.”"

Of course the famous documentary that Okafor is referring to, Mermaids: The Body Found from 2013, actually ended up being a faux-documentary, something that Discovery Channel has promised to not do again, but Okafor is among the far too many that still actually believe the doc was real.

Jahlil, buddy, you’re not really doing yourself many favors with all this crazy mermaid talk. Not that it would actually affect his draft position, but let’s try to be real, please.

Right now, Jahlil Okafor ranks as the projected first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, but that can change easily with how Duke preforms down the stretch and how they finish in the NCAA tournament. The Dukies are 22-3 so far this season and currently rank fourth in the nation. They have two more games against ranked opponents before the postseason begins, both against 15-ranked interstate rival, North Carolina.

If a 6-foot-11, 19-year-old who averages over 18 a game and will probably go first overall in the NBA Draft, maybe I’m not one to disagree with his theories and persuasions. Win the championship, and I’ll hop on that mermaid bandwagon with you, Jahlil.

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