My goodness, I cannot wait to hear what play-by-play guys do to this kid's name.
Chinonso Obokoh (pronounced Chee-no-so Oh-bow-ko) is a center/power forward in the Class of 2013 from Rochester's Bishop Kearney High School. The big man was on hand for the first Syracuse Orange practice of the year as well as Orange Madness and he must've liked what he saw because he verbally-committed to play for the Orange on Monday, according to Mike McAllister at CuseNation.com.
"I think it's about time," Obokoh said. "It's been a long time with this, the past two years now. I just think it's the right time.
"I would say that I felt at home at Syracuse. Just everything when I got there. It was all positive. The coaches and the players. It felt right."
"They can definitely make me better. That's the whole point. I believe in their system. They can make me better."
Scout lists him as a three-star prospect and the No. 26 guy in his position. ESPN has him as a three-star prospect and so does Rivals.
Obokoh chose SU over offers from Texas, Villanova, Temple and James Madison. He also had offers from Miami, Oklahoma, Pitt, Providence, Seton Hall, Oregon and others.
Here's what his high school coach told Donna Ditota yesterday:
"Defensively, he's unbelievable. He has great timing on blocking shots and running the floor. And he can guard on the perimeter," Boon said of Obokoh. "Offensively, he's still a work in progress. He's gotten a ton better, but he still has a ways to go."
Given what Boeheim & Co. have been able to do with other big men who fit that category, he makes a lot of sense for the system.
He joins Tyler Ennis in the Class of 2013, a nice compliment to one another.
And because you're wondering, here are some anagrams of his name:
Hobo Shock Onion
Boohoo Nick Nosh
Bison Hooch Nook
Bi Schnook Ooh No
We can work with that... His standing nickname is Chino, so, I guess that works too.
Welcome aboard, Chinonso!