Sigh, here goes:
Okafor absolutely wanted to come to Stanford and would have committed if we offered a scholarship. Jason Collins held the last remaining scholarship (I believe Rob Little had already accepted a scholarship), but it was likely he was going to the NBA. Montgomery’s fatal flaw was that he didn’t push Collins to make a decision fast enough. So while Collins dawdled, Okafor had to commit to UConn for fear of being left out entirely.
Collins went to the NBA like we all knew he would, UConn went on to win a national championship, and Stanford was left with one of the most amazingly talented teams in the country that spent a lot of time undefeated and #1, and fell just short. (the team included I think PG Chris Hernandez, SG Matt Lottich, SF Josh Childress, PF Matt Haryasz, and C Rob Little). And Rob Little was a good player—it’s just that scoring, shot-blocking machine Okafor (also, a good, smart, hard-working guy) would have been the last piece of the puzzle, especially with Childress in the backcourt.
Okafor absolutely wanted to come to Stanford and would have committed if we offered a scholarship. Jason Collins held the last remaining scholarship (I believe Rob Little had already accepted a scholarship), but it was likely he was going to the NBA. Montgomery’s fatal flaw was that he didn’t push Collins to make a decision fast enough. So while Collins dawdled, Okafor had to commit to UConn for fear of being left out entirely.
Collins went to the NBA like we all knew he would, UConn went on to win a national championship, and Stanford was left with one of the most amazingly talented teams in the country that spent a lot of time undefeated and #1, and fell just short. (the team included I think PG Chris Hernandez, SG Matt Lottich, SF Josh Childress, PF Matt Haryasz, and C Rob Little). And Rob Little was a good player—it’s just that scoring, shot-blocking machine Okafor (also, a good, smart, hard-working guy) would have been the last piece of the puzzle, especially with Childress in the backcourt.