Winthrop’s all-time leading shot-blocker, Okeke, to transfer

Winthrop head men’s basketball coach Pat Kelsey announced Sunday morning that redshirt junior Duby Okeke will transfer after completing his degree at Winthrop this May.

“Duby has worked very hard both on the court and in the classroom,” said Kelsey. “He will graduate and receive his degree in May from Winthrop and has elected to play his last year of eligibility elsewhere. We wish him nothing but the best.”

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Okeke played 94 career games with the Eagles averaging 4.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He was a fan favorite at Winthrop Coliseum for his rim-rattling slam dunks and blocked shots. The Georgia native will leave as the school's all-time leading shot-blocker after breaking Billy Houston's record earlier this season. Okeke finishes his Winthrop career with 165 blocks in three seasons.

Okeke is the second Winthrop player to transfer this offseason after freshman guard Patrick Fisher announced he’d received a release from his scholarship last week.

As it stands currently, the Eagles return seniors Xavier Cooks, Kellen Blake, Mitch Hill, Freddy Poole and Anders Broman, juniors Adam Pickett and Bjorn Broman, sophomore Josh Ferguson and redshirt freshman Raivis Scerbinskis. Six of those nine are scholarship players, leaving seven scholarship spots to fill. High school seniors Keondre Schumacher and Tom Pupavac are slated to join the Eagles this coming season, along with junior college transfer Austin Awad.

This story was originally published March 26, 2017 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Winthrop’s all-time leading shot-blocker, Okeke, to transfer."