Of the Los Angeles Lakers’ three players signed to two-way contracts, the least known is forward AK Okereke. The forward spent three years at Cornell University before finishing his playing career at Vanderbilt, which is somehow the exact same path that fellow Lakers’ two-way Chris Mañon took, but was one year ahead.
Okereke has already gotten himself off to a solid start at the California Classic Summer League, appearing in all three of the Lakers’ games. And he recently took the time to describe what he will bring to the table.
“I think it’s one of versatility, offensively and defensively, and just really doing whatever the team needs,” Okereke told Khobi Price of the California Post. “If they need, honestly for me to play a small five, I can do that. I can play on the perimeter. I can be a ball handler on the offensive end. I’m confident in my shot making ability from three and, especially, the midrange. And defensively, really just getting after it, guarding different types of guys, different archetypes. So yeah I think it really just comes down to doing whatever the team needs. I think that’s a valuable trait.”
Listed at 6’7″ and 244 pounds, Okereke has the physical profile of a big wing player who could potentially slide up to a small-ball center in certain lineups. He is known to be an excellent finisher at the rim and is also a good passer for his size as well while also being able to move his feet pretty well on the defensive end.
His best collegiate season came as a junior at Cornell when he averaged 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks while being named to the All-Ivy League Second Team. As he spoke about, he has an all-around game and the mindset of being willing and able to do whatever is asked of him is an ideal one.
A big key for him will be his outside shot. He did shoot 40% from 3-point range as a senior at Vanderbilt, but on pretty low volume. He will need to prove he can consistently make outside shots in order for him to develop into the player he and the Lakers think he can be.
In three games at the California Classic, Okereke averaged 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game. And he will be looking to have an even better outing at the upcoming Las Vegas Summer League.
Cameron Carr didn’t realize LeBron James would be leaving the Lakers
No Lakers player stood out more at the California Classic than first-round pick Cameron Carr. And the rookie was so locked in on being ready for Summer League, that he didn’t even realize it when news broke that LeBron James wouldn’t be returning to the team.
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