Magic Fans Get a Steal, “Don’t Mess With Big Chum”

The Orlando Magic got an absolute steal when they drafted Auburn forward Chuma Okeke 16th overall in the first round. Magic fans might not know what to expect from Okeke, but will soon realize what his teammate Samir Doughty meant when he warned others, “don’t mess with Big Chum.”

Auburn had just come off an embarrassing 82-67 loss to Ole Miss in January when I was asked which Auburn basketball player I really wanted to see step up. “I really want to see Chuma Okeke play more aggressive. He’s playing too tentative under the rim and Auburn needs him to be assertive to establish consistency on offense and success on defense.” At the time the Tigers were struggling in rebounding and defending under the rim and Okeke was the answer.

The 6 foot 8 sophomore stepped up in a big way. His leadership and skills brought a 22-9 Auburn team to the SEC Tournament where the Tigers defeated Missouri, South Carolina, and Florida in three days to face off against a Tennessee team playing for a number one seed spot in the NCAA Tournament and a share of the regular season SEC Championship.

Okeke put up his sixth double-double of the season against Tennessee with 18 points and 13 rebounds. It was just the beginning of what would be the most important month of Chuma Okeke’s career with the Tigers entering the tournament a number 5 seed and slated to potentially play against Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Okeke played a crucial role in Auburn’s last second, one point victory over New Mexico State, but it wasn’t until his dominant defensive performance against Kansas that the world began to take notice. You don’t mess with Big Chum.

The quiet and humble sophomore was immediately placed in the limelight. Lights and cameras awaited him in the locker room, draft experts looked at him under a microscope, and analysts began to throw his name around as if they’d been talking about him all year. Despite all the noise his success made off the court he still remained a quiet assassin on the court. Okeke put up his seventh and final double-double for the Tigers against North Carolina when he went down in the second half with a torn ACL. He scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds against a team of All-Americans and fellow first round draft picks.

“He was the best player on the court tonight,” an emotional Bruce Pearl said post game after the Tigers’ 97-80 win over North Carolina in the Sweet 16. Pearl was right. The 20 year old was just starting to come into his own and establish himself as the aggressive powerhouse we all envisioned he could become. With Okeke there was no limit for this team in the tournament, they could’ve beat anyone and everyone. In the tournament he averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals and asserted dominance on every offense he faced.

https://flywareagle.com/2019/03/30/chuma-new-auburn-basketball-mission-statement/

Debate regarding draft stock always arises when a player is injured, but this spring I’ve really learned to practice selective hearing when it comes to draft “experts” and analysts. Some “experts” projected Okeke to fall mid to late second round. Some “experts” didn’t even project Okeke to get drafted at all and with them I just practiced total deafness.

“I still feel like I’m kinda overlooked,” Okeke said in his introductory press conference. Okeke was overlooked throughout his college career. He was never named first or second team All SEC despite ranking in the SEC top ten for the previous year in: offensive rating, defensive rating, steal percentage, total rebounds, defensive win shares, and player efficiency rating. He’s top 5 one of the most well-rounded athletes who were available in this year’s draft having the highest block and steal percentage of any player to shoot from over 39 percent.

The best thing about Chuma Okeke is that he has every right to brag, but you’d never hear any of that from him. He puts his team first and plays for them above all else and they knew it too. They knew they wouldn’t have celebrated these successes if it was not for him, so when his team faced off against a dominant Kentucky team and a top seeded Virginia without him they made it their mission to “do it for Chuma.”

History says that the Tigers defeated Kentucky in the Elite 8 to go on to play Virginia in the Final Four, but it almost didn’t happen. The Tigers got in foul trouble early and struggled to get ahead of the Wildcats in the first half but this all changed at halftime. Down the corridor through one of the tunnels came a young man in a wheelchair accompanied by his mother and brother. Just two days removed from tearing his ACL he was in excruciating pain and exhausted, but halfway through the first half he demanded to be there with his brothers. They needed him.

World Reacts to Blown Call that Ended Auburn’s Historic Run

Kentucky didn’t stand a chance when Okeke came in. He didn’t even have to step foot on the court, his presence was already known. All momentum in Kansas City that afternoon shifted in the Tigers’ favor and it was a moment the entire world saw. Auburn advanced to the Final Four for the first time in history and defeated three blue bloods to do it. Basketball fans everywhere loved what they saw in Okeke and the Tigers, especially Orlando Magic’s president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and head coach Steve Clifford.

https://www.enewscourier.com/sports/local_sports/auburn-s-okeke-selected-high-in-draft-despite-knee-injury/article_3b613e3a-9470-11e9-ab64-37ab048c8db7.html

Weltman and Clifford were adamant about taking Okeke. They believed in him when others didn’t and Weltman said in Okeke’s introductory press conference that he is “a guy that embodies what we want our team to be about.” The Magic got the biggest steal of the draft in Okeke and when he gets healthy he will be playing on an even higher level than he was before.

Magic fans should be excited. NBA fans should be excited. Auburn fans should be excited. Big Chum isn’t going anywhere, he’s just getting started.