Dec. 9—MORGANTOWN — It may go unseen, for the most part, at least that’s how Tucker DeVries describes the impact from his WVU men’s basketball teammate Toby Okani.
“Everybody brings their own value and I think Toby’s value may not always show up on the stat sheet like other guys, ” DeVries explained.
Yet don’t think there is not an appreciation for what the 6-foot-8 Okani brings to the Mountaineers (6-2), who will host North Carolina Central (4-7) at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside the Coliseum.
Okani is not going to show up on the opposition’s scouting report as the guy that needs to be shut down.
And then he goes out and scores 20 points in a win against Arizona.
WVU STATS He may not be the best rebounder, passer or shot blocker, but he finds some small way to contribute in each category.
“I thought (at the Battle 4 Atlantis) he was incredibly valuable, ” WVU head coach Darian DeVries said. “Javon (Small) and Tucker got a lot of the accolades, but Toby was terrific. He was very efficient.”
Okani’s numbers don’t jump out at you, but he can’t be ignored at the same time.
He just may also be WVU’s most versatile defender, in that he’s got guard-like skills to defend smaller players, but also enough size to guard bigger guys, too.
“Toby is still trying to adjust his game to fit what this team needs, ” Darian DeVries said. “He’s done a good job of that in where can he be the most effective ?
“Right now, he’s shooting it at a high rate from three. He’s putting himself in a position to rebound. He’s screening for other guys and defensively he’s so versatile for us. He can guard one through five and has great length and can go get the ball.”
Okani enters tonight’s game having scored in double figures in his last four games. If that is a surprise, then it only leads to the theory that he is some type of silent assassin.
“Toby can shoot it, ” DeVries said. “He’s really confident in his shot. The other things we’ve talked to him about is defend and rebound. The offensive piece should be in addition to that. I think he’s bought in right now and doing a really good job in a lot of different areas for us.”
Among WVU players who have attempted at least 50 shots so far, Okani’s 51.7 shooting percentage is tops on the team. He’s also shooting 40 % from 3-point range, while averaging 4.0 rebounds per game.
He came to WVU from Illinois-Chicago, after beginning his college career at Duquesne.
Playing defense was always his reputation, and Okani was on the Missouri Valley Conference all-Defensive team last season, while finishing in the top 10 of the league in rebounding, steals and blocks.
In his final college season at WVU, that game is expanding.
He hit three critical 3-pointers in that win against Arizona. Against Georgetown last week, his tip-in basket gave the Mountaineers the lead for good with 11:22 remaining. Okani followed that up with a fast-break lay-up, as WVU pulled away for a 73-60 victory.
Afterward, it was Small and Tucker DeVries combing for 41 points that stood out, but it was maybe Okani who has become a sort of X factor as the man behind the scenes who is also helping WVU trend in the right direction.
“Toby is a big part of what we do, ” Tucker DeVries said. “He plays tremendously hard. He’s a big part in what we do offensively and defensively, even if people may not realize it.”
