Onyeka Okongwu

Onyeka Okongwu is an American basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans. Born to Nigerian parents he attended chino hills high school alongside the ball brothers. He was a four-year starter at Chino hills His team ranked number one in the country with a 35–0 record and captured the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Open Division state title. Okongwu shared MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year honors with his teammate, LaMelo Ball, after averaging 7.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. He went on to become California Mr. Basketball averaging 28 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks per game in his junior season. As a senior, Okongwu led Chino Hills to a runner-up finish at the CIF Southern Section Division I tournament and its second consecutive CIF Division I state title. He was named California Mr. Basketball for the 2nd year running while averaging 27 points, 11 rebounds, 4.3 blocks, and four assists per game.

He was a five-star recruit and chose to go to USC over UCLA. He made an immediate impact on his college team with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and a school-record eight blocks to lead the Trojans to a 77–48 victory over Florida A&M in his college debut becoming the first player since Taj Gibson to get a double-double in his USC debut. He had consistent performances throughout the season and was named to the first-team All-Pac-12 and the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team] He led USC with 16.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game. After the regular season, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected 6th overall by the Atlanta Hawks.