Inside The Huskies

Huskies Offer Top 2027 Big Man, Son of Former NBA Player

Obinna Ekezie Jr. originally hails from Nigeria, same as his father, who played for Maryland.

Dan Raley

Obinna Ekezie Jr. has a UW basketball offer.
Obinna Ekezie Jr. has a UW basketball offer. / Video

Give Danny Sprinkle credit for this: The University of Washington basketball coach doesn't have any problem aiming high when it comes to seeking elite talent.

On Saturday, Sprinkle's staff offered a scholarship to 7-foot, 220-pound Obinna Ekezie Jr., considered the top big man for the Class of 2027. According to 247Sports, he's the No. 3 player at any position in that group.

Ekezie, nicknamed "Obi," is the son of a former NBA player of the same name and a native of Lagos, Nigeria.

In this country for just a few years, he played last season for Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, California, where he was teammates with 6-foot-10 Niko Bundalo, once signed to the Huskies before the UW and that player went in different directions.

Ekezie's father similarly moved from Africa to the U.S. for his high school years. He ended up at a Massachusetts prep school before playing as a 6-foot-10, 275-pound big man for the University of Maryland, five NBA teams and finishing up overseas.

The son appears to be very advanced, offering both an inside game and a perimeter shot. Naturally, all of the major players in college basketball are interested in this guy. He currently holds a dozen offers, which include Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and UCLA.

Ekezie, however, is taking it slow. Remember, he's just coming off his sophomore season of high school ball.

As for what will interest him, he told Zags Blog he's partial to a place where it’s, 'Like damn, I love this place.' The fan base [is] nice. The area nice. Just a place where the coach [is] going to make you feel like you belong, too. And then the basketball fit is most important, as well.”

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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