Okpala receives Stanford offer, plans trip

Stanford offered top Southern California wing Kezie Okpala in mid-July, and now the Cardinal is preparing to host the Esperanza High School (Placentia, Calif.) standout for a visit. Okpala, a four-star prospect on multiple recruiting sites, will take his first trip to The Farm on Aug. 6th.

"(My goals for the trip are) just meet the players, talk to all the coaches, have a meeting with all the coaches," Okpala said. "(I want to) visit the campus and see the atmosphere."

Okpala started hearing from Stanford when the Cardinal's prior coaching staff was in place. When they departed, Stanford head coach Jerod Haase reached out to Okpala to develop a relationship.

"When the staff left the head coach, Coach Haase, reached out to me," Okpala said. "He came out to my practice junior year. From there we kept on talking. They watched me in the spring and then they watched me this summer."

That evaluation culminated in a Stanford offer. The Cardinal extended Okpala a scholarship about two weeks ago.

"It was a great feeling," Okpala said. "They're a big school in the Pac-12 - it's one of the best schools academically in the world. It was incredible."

Okpala said that Stanford is "definitely up there on the top" of the list of programs he's considering.

"I really like the coaches, I feel like they have a high interest in me and I have a high interest in them," Okpala said. "Academically they're one of the best in the nation. Getting a degree from there is exceptional. Basketball - Pac-12, high-major. That would be a great experience."

Okpala also has offers from programs like Utah and Dartmouth, among others.

What factors will influence his college choice?

"Just the fit, the fit of the program," Okpala said. "The coaches - relationships with the coaches. Style of play and the coaches and how much they believe in me and stuff like that."

The Cardinal's staff has discussed with Okpala's his potential role within Stanford's team.

"We just talk about how I'm tall, I have upside and I can handle the ball - playmaking, I can be able to dribble the ball up," Okpala said.

Okpala doesn't have any connections to players in the Stanford basketball program, but Cardinal football player Bobby Okereke is a family friend.

There's no strict timeline for the next months of Okpala's recruitment, but he will likely take additional visits, though he doesn't have anything currently set.