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Sports

Harcum's Charles Okwandu Heads to Final Four

The UConn center called Harcum home for a year.

Things are still a little difficult for Charles Okwandu. He’s adjusting, gradually, on and off the court. On Saturday, the 7-foot-1 Connecticut University center will take a big step in his development, under the glare of the national spotlight playing in the NCAA Final Four against what has emerged as the Final Four favorite, Kentucky.

Okwandu has had a remarkable journey that began in Lagos, Nigeria, took a brief detour at the College of Southern Idaho, where Okwandu spent the 2007 spring semester, and wound up in Bryn Mawr, at .

He left his family to learn about and play college basketball in the United States. He attended Harcum from 2007-08, playing half a season for the basketball team, before getting his grades together and transferring to Big East power UConn.

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“I thought it was a good experience at Harcum,” said Okwandu, who’s seen his minutes go up quite a bit this season, averaging 15.4 minutes of playing time, up from 7.7 minutes in 2009-10. “Harcum helped me get ready for what American colleges were all about, and American college basketball.

“When I was at Harcum, I took care of my classes, because I had to get off of [academic] probation. Then when I arrived here, at UConn, things got that much harder. It was different. But this is a nice way to go out my last year.”

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Who knew?

The Huskies, who feature star Kemba Walker, were expected to be competitive in the Big East Conference, where Villanova plays. Okwandu was looking for some place to fit in, and via Harcum, he found it at UConn.

Okwandu’s offense is still raw. He’s averaging 2.9 points a game, but he’s been used to block shots and defend near the basket, and it’s something he’s shown he could do well. He’s second on the Huskies in blocked shots, averaging 1.3 a game.

The one thing he misses is his parents and family being able to watch his development in person.

“I’m the only one here from Nigeria,” Okwandu said. “The rest of my family is back home in Nigeria. It makes it a little tough sometimes, but I have my UConn family with me. I have my team around me and they’re like family to me. My goal was to try enjoying playing my last year and have fun.”

The Huskies were just boarding the team bus for Houston, where the Final Four is being held Saturday and the national championship game will be held Monday night. Not many expect the Huskies to get by mighty Kentucky. But Okwandu says no one knows this team better than the UConn players themselves.

“No one thought we would get this far, except us, the guys and coaches on this team,” Okwandu said. “I want to win two more games. A few years ago, I couldn’t have imagined this at all. Now I’m sitting on a bus, getting ready to leave for Houston to play in the Final Four.”

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