5-star forward commits to Auburn
Auburn and Bruce Pearl received some late-night news on Monday.
Good news. Really good news.
Five-star forward Isaac Okoro, who is ranked the No. 22 overall player in the 2019 class, announced his commitment to Pearl and the Tigers.
“I would like to first thank God, my parents, my brother, sisters, teammates, and coaches for pushing me and making me the person I am today,” Okoro wrote on Twitter. “I sincerely thank all of the coaches who recruited me. With all of that being said, I am excited to announce that I’m committing to Auburn University. #WAREAGLE!!!!”
Okoro, from McEachern in Powder Springs, Ga., is the third five-star recruit to commit or sign with Auburn since Pearl became head coach, joining Austin Wiley and Mustapha Heron, both of whom signed with Auburn in the 2016 class.
Okoro chose Auburn over offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Florida, Florida State and N.C. State, among others. His relationships with Pearl and Steven Pearl, Okoro's lead recruiter, as well as an early offer from Auburn were big reasons Okoro chose the Tigers.
“They were the second school to offer me,” Okoro told Rivals.com in June. “They have always been there for me and have been to a lot of my high school games and practices so they have always been around. Not a lot of people knew me my freshman or sophomore year so them coming in and offering me gave me hope.”
Rivals.com basketball analyst Corey Evans has evaluated Okoro several times this summer. He believes Auburn is adding a very versatile player in Okoro.
“Okoro is the face of positionless basketball thanks to his ability to guard three positions on the floor,” Evans said. “But he is no slouch on the offensive end either. On the Nike EYBL circuit this spring, he posted numbers of 17.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 blocks per game.”
Okoro is the second commitment in Auburn’s 2019 class, joining high school teammate Babatunde “Stretch” Akingbola. Akingbola, however, could reclassify to the 2018 class and enroll at Auburn before the fall. McEachern also is home to Class of 2019 forward Jared Jones and Class of 2020 four-star guard Sharife Cooper.
