UNC Forward James Okonkwo Enters the Transfer Portal

UNC loses its first player to the portal.

North Carolina forward James Okonkwo has entered the transfer portal. He spent just one season in Chapel Hill, as a reserve, after transferring last offseason from West Virginia.

College Journey

A native of Maidenhead, England, Okonkwo has now played for two schools in major conferences.

At West Virginia, he played 11 minutes per game his sophomore year, averaging 2.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in that time.

At North Carolina, Okonkwo was buried on the bench, and averaged just 2.9 minutes per game. In that time, he brought in one point and one rebound.

Now, Okonkwo will have the opportunity to transfer elsewhere in search of more playing time.

UNC Impact

This is the first member with eligibility left to part with the program this offseason. Although more may choose to transfer, this departure marks the beginning of an interesting offseason for the Tar Heels.

Armando Bacot, Paxson Wojcik, Cormac Ryan, and now Okonkwo give UNC four scholarships to work with.
North Carolina currently has only one center, Jalen Washington, on its roster. That will be a position of need before the start of next season.

The good news is that North Carolina has plenty of time to grab a guy, and there are plenty who are already in or will enter the portal.

Thank you for reading CarolinaHQ. Please follow us on Twitter at @TheCarolinaHQ and our Facebook group for the latest news and stories about the Tar Heels. For feedback, questions, concerns or to apply for a writing position, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on Twitter at @TheCarolinaHQ. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the fastest-growing North Carolina sports sites. We cover all sports and would love to have you read and be interested in our content!