{"id":688479,"date":"2026-05-23T11:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T11:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/688479\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T11:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T11:55:08","slug":"despite-opposite-advice-from-nba-executives-ebuka-okorie-makes-clear-decision-on-draft-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/688479\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite Opposite Advice from NBA Executives, Ebuka Okorie Makes Clear Decision on Draft Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Point guard Ebuka Okorie still has a few days left to decide to withdraw his name from this year\u2019s NBA draft. With the deadline set on May 27, he still has a week to return for another season at the collegiate level before going pro.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, analyst Jeff Goodman responded to a fan\u2019s question about whether Ebuka Okorie is confident about declaring for this year\u2019s draft. He <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/goodmanhoops\/status\/2057861611646263647?s=46\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:responded by highlighting;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;responded by highlighting&quot;}\" class=\"link \">responded by highlighting<\/a> how a few NBA executives believe the point guard can benefit from another year in college.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>However, this has not influenced his decision to withdraw his name from the draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEbuka Okorie says he is staying in the NBA draft even though 6 of the 10 NBA guys I talked to felt as though he should go back to college,\u201d Goodman tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>During high school, Ebuka Okorie was initially committed to play for the Harvard Crimson. However, he later flipped his commitment to join the Stanford Cardinal.<\/p>\n<p>As a freshman last season, the point guard saw time in 31 games. Okorie averaged 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Under second-year coach Kyle Smith, the program finished with a 20-13 (9-9 ACC) record.<\/p>\n<p>Stanford failed to make March Madness. However, they decided to accept the invitation to play in the College Basketball Crown. They suffered an 82-77 loss to West Virginia in the quarterfinal.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>CBS Sports\u2019 Cameron Salerno believes Ebuka Okorie is qualified enough to declare for this year\u2019s draft<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, CBS Sports\u2019 Cameron Salerno <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/2026-nba-draft-stay-or-go-decisions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:shared a report;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;shared a report&quot;}\" class=\"link \">shared a report<\/a> discussing some of the prospects in this year\u2019s NBA draft. When it came to Ebuka Okorie, he had nothing but praise for the point guard.<\/p>\n<p>Salerno believes that Okorie has proved himself as a freshman with Stanford and is a strong one-and-done prospect in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeeping his name in the draft is absolutely the right decision,\u201d Salerno wrote. \u201cOkorie can straight up score. \u2026 Despite his size, he can get to and finish at the rim.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkorie shot 135 of 250 (54%) at the rim last season, which is excellent volume for a guard at the college level. I\u2019ve said this from the moment I did my first mock draft of the cycle: Okorie is a top 20 pick. One fit I really like for Okorie is No. 19 to the <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nba\/teams\/toronto\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Toronto;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Toronto&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto<\/a> Raptors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 NBA draft will be held on June 23 and 24 at the Barclays Center in <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/nba\/teams\/brooklyn\/\" data-i13n=\"sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link\" data-ylk=\"slk:Brooklyn;sec:content-canvas;subsec:anchor_text;elm:context_link;itc:0\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Brooklyn&quot;,&quot;ySubModuleName&quot;:&quot;anchor_text&quot;,&quot;yHasCommerce&quot;:false}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn<\/a>, New York.<\/p>\n<p>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/tyran-stokes-obsession-led-mark-092447354.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tyran Stokes Pursuit Led Mark Pope to Miss Out on Key Prospects, Insider Claims;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Tyran Stokes Pursuit Led Mark Pope to Miss Out on Key Prospects, Insider Claims&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tyran Stokes Pursuit Led Mark Pope to Miss Out on Key Prospects, Insider Claims<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/wade-shown-mirror-troubling-past-081502312.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Will Wade Shown Mirror on Troubling Past as Analyst Shoots Down LSU\u2019s Recruitment Strategy;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Will Wade Shown Mirror on Troubling Past as Analyst Shoots Down LSU\u2019s Recruitment Strategy&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Will Wade Shown Mirror on Troubling Past as Analyst Shoots Down LSU\u2019s Recruitment Strategy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in <a href=\"https:\/\/collegefootballnetwork.com\/tennis\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:tennis;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;tennis&quot;}\" class=\"link \">tennis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/collegefootballnetwork.com\/football\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:college football;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;college football&quot;}\" class=\"link \">college football<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/collegefootballnetwork.com\/mens-college-basketball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:men\u2019s college basketball;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;men\u2019s college basketball&quot;}\" class=\"link \">men\u2019s college basketball<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/collegefootballnetwork.com\/womens-college-basketball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:women\u2019s college basketball;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;women\u2019s college basketball&quot;}\" class=\"link \">women\u2019s college basketball<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/collegefootballnetwork.com\/college-baseball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:college baseball!;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;college baseball!&quot;}\" class=\"link \">college baseball!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Point guard Ebuka Okorie still has a few days left to decide to withdraw his name from this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[10427,49,48,246446,236605,251961,459,17317,92730,82,23259,3302],"class_list":["post-688479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-brooklyn","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ebuka-okorie","tag-harvard-crimson","tag-jeff-goodman","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-point-guard","tag-sports","tag-stanford-cardinal","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}