Prep b BB: Onyeka the bomb

Onyeka Okongwu, Chino Hills' monster center
(far right), with Mission Bay's Boogie Ellis
(center foreground) during the Huskies' 75-63 win
Saturday. (Photo by Ed Piper)
 

By Ed Piper

On my merry travels to watch more boys high school basketball and see the sights over the weekend (Fri.-Sat., Dec. 14-15), I was able to view the "Human Chipper", otherwise known as Onyeka Okongwu, a 6'9" forward/center for Chino Hills High, as the Huskies chopped up a good but out-shined Mission Bay squad at Carlsbad High Saturday night, 75-63.

The draw for the game was the Chino Hills team, a perennial powerhouse on which Okongwu started as a freshman alongside all three of the Ball brothers, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo. (I'm long over all of the Balls and dad's Big Baller Brand.) The row of younger high school boys from North County seated in the lower stands in the Carlsbad gym behind me (I pulled up a chair at a table for media on the sideline) oohed-and-aahed at Onyeka's slams and blocks, hooting and hollering in delight.

Most of the fun took place in the first half, before Chino Hills built up a 20-point lead (45-25 early in the third quarter) to take most of the suspense out of the eventual outcome.

Don't get me wrong, the Buccaneers, the second-best squad in San Diego County, played hard and played well. It's just that, trying to see the game through those 10th-graders' eyes behind me, watching a muscular, athletic big man like Okongwu fly through the air and slam a loose ball through the hoop with both hands--even though a teammate had also gone up for the same rebound and was positioned between Onyeka and the basket--is the thrill.

Seeing great team basketball is worthwhile. But in this age of YouTube, Hudl, and Instagram, why not enjoy some of the spectacular things a mere high school player can do (even though he may be a year older than the rest of his class), if they include going high to block Mission Bay's Boogie Ellis's near-slam going down the middle of the paint?

Both of these plays came later in the game, and caused a big reaction. But, like I indicated, the gym grew noticeably quieter in the second half of the game, even when Coach Marshawn Cherry's Bucs fought back to within eight points, at 52-44, to begin the fourth quarter. Chino Hills, with a talented lineup surrounding its impressive big man, was able to recover and fend off each challenge by Mission Bay.

What is remarkable is that a five-star recruit (as the 6'9" Okongwu is rated) who can't shoot the ball more than two feet (other than some of his free throws) can be so effective. Onyeka (whose name you learn fast because his name is repeated on the Public Address so frequently) doesn't have a touch, but his timing is uncanny around the rim in taking the alley oop pass from a teammate or, as I've said, a missed shot rumbling around the rim.

Needless to say, Mission Bay, with 6'7" Ronnie Latting being Cherry's tallest player, had no one to  counter Chino Hills' big man.

My "Chipper" moniker for him is the result of the numerous blocks he made of anyone and everyone who dared try to shoot inside. Okongwu, unlike Wilt Chamberlain of lore, has no hesitation in being aggressive to stop an opposing player, even if that means taking the chance of fouling him.

Okongwu did foul out with 1:06 remaining, but his team had a fairly secure lead when he left, 72-57. To me, his willingness to  use all his fouls in impeding the opposition shows a team-oriented aggressiveness. He has a winning attitude, and for that USC has accepted his commitment. It was a lot of fun to spend Saturday evening watching his explosive play, his abandon. He's a blocking/rebounding machine, even though he can't shoot a shot from outside.