One of the biggest storylines of Tennessee basketball’s offseason was its roster movement at center. Both Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka entered the transfer portal and the Vols replaced them with Ohio State center Felix Okpara.
A 6-foot-11 center, Okpara is a fantastic athlete who blocked 83 shots last season for the Buckeyes. His athleticism is also evident on the offensive end where he’s emerged as a strong partner with Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler this summer.
“If I’m being completely honest, watching them play together, you would think they played together for years,” Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said of the duo this week. “I think that they’re probably the perfect compliment to each other. And I think we said that as a staff when we first got Felix that he was gonna be a welcome addition here because of his vertical ability and going up and catching lobs.”
Tennessee held practice open to the media earlier this month and Okpara’s ability as a lob threat was evident. Where the rising junior’s offensive game is limited as a back to the basket scorer, he’s stout at finishing dunks at the rim and catching lobs.
That makes him a perfect combination with Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler. The 5-foot-9 point guard found another gear in SEC play of his junior season, averaging 14.5 points and seven assists per game. He’s a phenomenal passer and the perfect player to run Rick Barnes’ offense.
Felix flying pic.twitter.com/VYnLrAiTHZ
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) July 18, 2024
More From RTI: Santiago Vescovi Signs Professional Contract In Spain
Zeigler and the Ohio State transfer big man have quickly built a repertoire. Okpara makes his life easier for Zeigler because of his his ability to grab the ball near the rim and finish.
“It’s kind of like a safety valve for him,” Clark said. “It was like yesterday in practice there was a switch that happened late in practice where Zakai had a big switch onto him and Felix had a guard switch, they were on offense and Zakai, it was late in the shot clock, he kind of just threw the ball up at the rim and Felix just jumped up and got it and just scored it over the top. And I told Zakai like, great. That’s what you should do. That was a great job. He was like, ‘I didn’t even know where he was, I just kind of threw the ball up.'”
Tennessee’s four additions to its roster through the transfer portal are all players that mesh well with Zeigler’s skillset. Chaz Lanier, Igor Milicic and Darlinstone Dubar are all fantastic shooters that will space the floor around their point guard.
While Okpara doesn’t have the ability to score further away from the basket like Jonas Aidoo did last season, he looks more consistent as a finisher at the basket who plays with force around the rim.
“That’s the kind of dynamic that he changes with us is just someone that’s so talented vertically, but also a guy that plays with a lot of physicality and aggression down in the paint,” Clark said. “I think he has another dimension to us that it’s kind of similar to what we’ve had in the past, but it’s a little bit more pop to it, I would say.”
