Stanford HC Kyle Smith makes bold transfer portal move as former Harvard star Chisom Okpara commits to join Cardinal

6-foot-8 Bronxville native Chisom Okpara announced that he will be joining the Stanford Cardinal for the 2024-25 college basketball season. Okpara is the third off-season signing for the Cardinal as they gear up for Kyle Smith's first season as head coach.

Okpara told On3 that he has agreed to join Stanford on May 23, 2024. He made the choice after visiting Stanford University a few weeks ago. It is another significant addition to the Cardinal roster, which also landed Evan Stinson and Tallis Toure in April.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein confirmed on X:

"Harvard transfer Chisom Okpara has committed to Stanford."

Chisom Okpara Showed His Potential At Harvard

Okpara signed with Harvard in November 2022. During his two seasons with the Crimson, Okpara exhibited great promise, scoring 636 points in total and winning the Ivy League Rookie of the Week award four times. In his debut season, the forward played in all 28 games averaging 7.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and .491 FG%.

Okpara improved drastically in every department the following season as he started 24 games, scoring 16.5 points with 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He showed his impressive shooting ability, making nearly half of his shots (47.9%) from the field and about a third (33.8%) from the 3-point line.

Chisom's highest point total in a game was 26 points during a sensational display in a thrilling 74-72 win against the Holy Cross Crusaders in December 2022. He also provided four assists and grabbed six rebounds in that game.

Kyle Smith's Stanford strikes again in transfer portal

After the departures of many important players, namely Spencer Jones, Brandon Angel, and Andrej Stojakovic this offseason, Okpara's inclusion to the team became even more substantial.

Earlier in April, Kyle Smith's team added Tallis Toure, a 6-foot-9 center from West Park High School, alongside small forward Evan Stinson of Cheney High. Coach Smith sees a lot of promise in both young players, believing they will thrive and make Stanford basketball proud.

Stinson, a 6-7 forward picked Stanford despite having interests from universities like San Francisco, Montana, and Eastern Washington. For Cheney High, he scored 25 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had five assists per game.

On the other hand, the Henderson, NV homegrown, Toure is considered a three-star recruit by ESPN and Rivals. He initially committed to join the Washington State Cougars in March 2024 but later flipped after getting an offer letter from Stanford. Toure signed a letter of intent for Stanford on April 23, 2024.