MIAMI, Fla. – FIU men's basketball head coach Jeremy Ballard announced the signing of Okechukwu Okeke to the program after starring as a highly touted JUCO recruit at Tallahassee Community College. Okeke, ranked 15^th in the country by jucorecruiting.com, signs to FIU after holding offers from schools such as Kansas State, Memphis, Maryland, Wichita State, DePaul and Arizona State and has two years of eligibility remaining.
 
Okeke, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward from East Chicago, Ind., started 36 games last season for Tallahassee Community College, collecting Second Team All-Panhandle Conference honors while helping lead TCC earn a share of the Panhandle Conference Title and reach the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Semifinals.
 
Okeke averaged 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting a league-best 65.4 percent from the floor for the 2022-23 season. The forward reached doubles figures in 14 contests, including three double-doubles, while ranking fourth in the Panhandle Conference in blocks per game and 22^nd in the nation for total blocks (63). Okeke was pivotal to a TCC squad that went 31-6 overall, including a 20-game win streak, and was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country.
 
Additionally, Okeke helped the Eagles received an automatic bid to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament and reached the championship game, while also earning an at-large bid to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 12 seed – reaching the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Semifinals for just its third appearance in school history.
 
Prior to TCC, Okeke played at Tyler Junior College in Texas, where he averaged 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds and helped lead the Apaches to a NJCAA Region XIV Tournament appearance.

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