Florida checks in on point guard target
The Florida basketball coaching staff’s search for a point guard to fill the void created by Shai Alexander’s decommitment has the Gators evaluating prospects near and far. Those efforts continued Wednesday night when Florida head coach Mike White and assistant Darris Nichols traveled to New England to scout Brewster Academy (N.H.) point guard Michael Okauru.
Okauru, a 6-foot-3, 180 pound guard originally from North Carolina, had 10 points, seven assists and three steals for the night. He spoke briefly with Coach White following the game.
“He said he's looking to do an in home visit during my Christmas break and then I would [sic] come visit the school,” Okauru said.
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Brewster Academy’s Christmas break officially begins on Friday but Okauru is getting a head start by leaving today for an official visit to Georgia Tech -- who offered earlier this month. Florida, meanwhile, has yet to offer Okauru but he hopes that an offer will come during Florida’s in-home visit with his family.
Brewster Academy head coach Jason Smith also spoke with Coach White after the game and was confident that Florida’s in-home visit will happen next week.
“He mentioned a few possible dates for official visit,” Smith said via text. “Mike leaves to visit Georgia Tech tomorrow. I believe Coach White was going to do a home visit and meet Mike's mother next week (before Christmas holiday). I will let you know if I hear when Coach White will go visit Michael's mother. Again, I think it will be before Christmas.”
While Florida has shown increasing interest in the three-star point guard; Georgia, Kansas and Oklahoma State are also standing out to Okauru. In fact, last Wednesday Mark Fox from Georgia and an assistant from Kansas were in the gym to watch him. Like Georgia Tech and Florida, those programs are either in need of point guard depth or are facing the possibility of their starting point guard becoming an early entry in the 2017 NBA Draft.
ITG REACTION:
Okauru is a patient pick and roll point guard who has good range on his jump shot. On the adidas gauntlet series he made 40.4 percent of his three-pointers (19-of-47). In games we scouted, Okauru showed good athleticism. We have seen him dunk but would not call him an explosive high flier in terms of raw athleticism. By using his ability to make good decisions, change speeds and finish through traffic at the rim with either hand, he looks like a viable option to back up Chris Chiozza next season. Okauru is also a solid on top defender and has a good frame for development.
WHAT’S NEXT?:
Okauru is just starting to take official visits. Like the Gators, Georgia is working to schedule an in-home visit with him. Okauru isn't looking to drag out his recruitment and we believe that he could commit at any time after he has taken a couple of visits for comparison. If Florida does offer Okauru, the Gators appear to be in very good shape with him.
“To be honest I like Florida a lot,” Okauru admitted. “I definitely could see myself fitting there.”
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Russ Wood is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and InsideTheGators.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter