Felix Okpara Link Year Prep in Branson Missouri

Felix Okpara, who was a sophomore in the fall of 2019, is 6-foot-11 attending Link Year Prep in Branson Missouri. He’s ranked No. 55 overall in the 2022 class by ESPN Recruiting Nation and other recruiting services. The 210-pound Okpara, who is rated the No. 11 post player in the 2022 class by Rivals, has picked Ohio State over offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida. A very good recruit for Chris Holtman and Ohio State that is in need of players at the center position.

Committing to Ohio State

Okpara is a four-star prospect and the No. 11 center in the nation for the Class of 2022. He visited Ohio State over the weekend of June 15th and committed to the Buckeyes on Sunday, his second official visit. The 6-foot-11 Okpara played well for Team Tennessee at the Under Armour Invitational and Peach Jam and is an athletic, raw post player who will be well suited for the Buckeyes’ style under coach Chris Holtmann.

"As soon as I stepped on campus, I fell in love with it," Okpara told reporters. "Throughout the whole visit, I was thinking how it would feel to be a Buckeye." Okpara is a physical presence inside, as he shows a willingness to bang in the paint and has good footwork for a player his size. He can score off put backs and tip ins around the basket, but also has a soft touch from 15 to 17 feet.

The Ohio State 2022 Class

Okpara is among a handful of national top 100 forwards and centers Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann and his staff have been tracking this summer to add to their 2022 recruiting class. The others are Florida power forward Jarace Walker, ranked 13th, Illinois forward AJ Casey, ranked 68th, North Dakota center Joe Hurlburt, ranked 123rd, and Arizona center Shawn Phillips, ranked 147th and committed to NC State.

That class now numbers four verbal commitments. The others are Georgia point guard Bruce Thornton (ranked 42nd nationally), New York shooting guard Roddy Gayle (ranked 51st) and Ohio shooting guard Bowen Hardman (ranked 275th).

Okpara plays at Link Year Prep in Branson Missouri. Link Year is the same program that produced Mason Jones (76ers), Deandre Jones (University of Central Arkansas) and Angelo Allergi (Eastern Washington University). Okpara plays for the EAB Tennessee AAU program, which is captained by Reed Kemp who was a part of Missouri Western's 2021 class.

Okpara School Visits

Earlier this summer, I wrote an article about Felix Okpara, the No. 4 player in the state. If you haven’t read it already, you can find it on the site. Well, since then, Okpara has taken official visits to Ohio State (June 15) and Ole Miss (June 27). In recent weeks, Florida and Georgia have come in to try and persuade him to make visits.

Mokan Elite

Still, Okpara is clearly college basketball’s most-watched African player. Okpara starred alongside another OSU target in Missouri center Tarris Reed (Committed to Michigan) for the Mokan Elite travel team. That team played in the Peach Jam over the summer. The 6'9" Reed is ranked as the nation’s No. 39 prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. Okpara, who is currently ranked 51st nationally by 247Sports, averaged 14 points and five rebounds per game after winning the dunk contest at the Peach Jam with an emphatic two-handed slam.