Just days after Hasheem Thabeet was inducted into the Huskies of Honor, another all-time great will be honored.
Emeka Okafor, one of the greatest players in program history, will have his jersey number (No. 50) retired, joining Ray Allen (No. 34) and Richard “Rip” Hamilton (No. 32) as the only players in UConn men’s basketball history to have their jersey number retired.
“It shows that he’s one of the foundations on which the program was built,” Joe D’Ambrosio, the former radio voice of the team from 1992 to 2018, said. “With Emeka having his jersey retired, I think it’s proof of his legacy and the fact that he was among the greatest UConn players of all time.”
What Okafor did in his three seasons at UConn remains unmatched. He holds career records for most blocked shots (441, 4.3 per game). He averaged a double-double for his career with 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Only five other Huskies have averaged a double-double for their career, all of which came before 1971. One of his most impressive efforts came at Villanova, when he blocked Randy Foye’s shot to seal a victory in overtime.
He is the only player to be named a National Player of the Year, sharing the 2004 NABC Player of the Year honor with Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson. During that season, Okafor averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game on 59.9% shooting, all while dealing with back spasms throughout the season. That season still holds program records to this day, including most double-doubles (24), most blocked shots in a single game (10, tied with Thabeet and Donyell Marshall) and the most rebounds in Big East play (22, also most rebounds in a Hartford game).
“He was such a complete player,” UConn general manager Tom Moore, an assistant coach at the time, said. “He kept the shot blocking; he kept the defensive rebounding. He was good in transition with running, but now he added a very reliable low-post game too, and he could get fouled now. He was a monster as a junior.”
Okafor’s All-American season helped the Huskies win the Big East Tournament and eventually the program’s second national championship. He was named the 2004 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, with a career performance against Duke in the national semifinal.
“He picks up the two fouls early, and he’s like apoplectic,” Moore said. “We were up about eight or nine when he got the fouls, and then we were down about nine or so at halftime. So, it was close to a 20-point swing with him out of there. But he was so dominant in the second half on both ends. I think he fouled out their whole frontcourt and then just sort of took over the game.”
Okafor is arguably the greatest defensive player in program history. Like Thabeet, Okafor was also named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2002-03, 2003-04). His 156 blocks in the 2002-03 season still stand as a program record, as well as averaging 4.7 blocks per game.
“He had an amazing sense of timing,” said D’Ambrosio, who will emcee the ceremony. “His timing to block shots was terrific on the college level. I would put it equivalent to what Bill Russell’s shot blocking was like in the pros.”
The Bellaire, Texas native made an instant impact once arriving in Storrs, starting on the 2001-02 team that ended up winning the Big East regular season title and the Big East Tournament. Despite being named to the All-Big East Third Team, Okafor was not the star of the team then; that title belonged to Caron Butler. That team ended up making the Elite Eight, losing to eventual champion Maryland.
“[He] never looked out of place,” D’Ambrosio said. “He always looked like he understood what was expected of him, and he did that to the best of his ability every time he stepped on the floor.”
The next season saw him named to the All-Big East First Team while also having one of the best defensive seasons in program history. The Huskies won their division in the Big East and made it to the Sweet Sixteen, falling to Texas.
However, his presence on the court is not the only impact he had at UConn. He is considered the most academically gifted player the program has ever seen. He was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and was the Academic All-American of the Year during the 2003-04 season.
Shamon Tooles, who will be in attendance for the ceremony, said, “He’s probably the smartest player we ever played with. After practices, he would essentially be in the study hall for the remainder of the evening.”
In April, Okafor will be inducted into the UConn Business Hall of Fame. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in two and a half years and finished with a 3.8 GPA.
“If he had 15 minutes with a bus getting delayed a little bit, he might go finish an academic assignment,” Moore said. “He was as locked in and regimented as any great young player that I’ve ever been around with his time management skills.”
He became the highest NBA draft selection in program history (later matched by Thabeet), being taken by the Charlotte Bobcats with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. That rookie season was stellar for him, as he was named the 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year. He had a 10-year career in the league, also playing for the New Orleans Hornets and Pelicans as well as the Washington Wizards.
Now, Okafor is an analyst in college basketball, appearing on ESPN, Fox Sports and CBS Sports already.
Okafor will see his jersey number hang from the rafters as the Huskies host Creighton on Wednesday night at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.