West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries has announced the signing of Toby Okani to a grant-in-aid for the 2024-25 season.
Okani, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound guard from Orange, New Jersey, will be a fifth-year senior after competing two seasons at UIC and two seasons at Duquesne.
For his career, Okani has played in 113 games with 87 starts and has scored 921 points, grabbed 625 rebounds, posted 131 blocks and has 112 steals.
“Toby is poised to have a great senior year,” DeVries said. “He’s a very versatile defender. He rebounds the ball at a high rate and has the ability to finish above the rim and will really excel in our transition offense. I just love the flexibility he will give us at both ends of the floor!”
Last season at UIC, Okani was named to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) All-Defensive Team, leading the league in blocks (2.0). He started 31 of 33 games and averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Okani ranked sixth in the MVC in double-doubles (4) and seventh in rebounds (6.8), defensive rebounds (5.3) and steals (1.5). He was one of just two players in the MVC to rank in the top 10 in the conference in the three primary defensive categories (rebounding, steals and blocks). Okani was fourth in the MVC with seven double-digit rebounding games.
Okani had a career-high 31 points at Drake and 12 rebounds and four steals at Evansville. He had three blocks in nine games this past season, including a season-high six at Cincinnati to go with 20 points against the Bearcats.
He started all 32 games as a junior in 2022-23, averaging 31.7 minutes per game, including two 40-minute efforts. Okani averaged 11 points per game and had 29 points at Valparaiso. He registered a career-high 14 rebounds against Southern Illinois and a career-high seven blocks against Illinois State.
Okani made 25 career starts in two seasons at Duquesne and had a season-high 13 points against Richmond and 11 rebounds at Rhode Island. He scored 14 points in 22 minutes of action at George Washington.
Okani attended Cushing Academy (MA) and helped them to a 23-7 record. Cushing went undefeated in NEPSAC Class AA play (15-0), making the Penguins the first AA program to go undefeated in conference play since 2014-15. His team was one of 14 qualifiers for the 2020 National Prep Championship.
He attended St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J., as a senior and West Orange High through his junior season. Okani was a two-time All-Super Essex Conference Liberty Division pick while at West Orange. He played for the PSA Cardinals (NY) on the EYBL circuit.
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