AUBURN, Ala. – Last June, three months after Auburn basketball made its run to the Final Four, the program made history once again when sophomore Chuma Okeke was drafted in the first round, 16th overall, by the Orlando Magic. He was the first Auburn player chosen in the NBA Draft since 2001.
Because of the injury he suffered in the Sweet 16 win over North Carolina last year, Okeke has yet to make his NBA debut, and with the season on hold because of COVID-19, it's unlikely to happen this year. He continues the rehab process in Orlando aiming to be back better than he was before by the start of the next NBA season.
We caught up with the former Auburn star to see how his recovery was going.
Q: What have you been doing to keep busy the last month or two?
Okeke: Before everybody went on lockdown, I moved to Orlando from Lakeland. The Orlando staff bought me weights, they bought me a bike, and sent it to my house. They gave me workouts to do every day, both upper body and lower body. There's no gym I go to. I just use the garage as a gym with the stuff that they provided.
Q: Where are you at with the rehab process?
Okeke: Before the lockdown, I was shooting in the gym and I felt pretty good shooting, getting off the floor. I was going through drills somewhat full speed. It felt good. I don't know what percent I'm at right now because it's been awhile since I've even shot a ball. I've just been working out and conditioning.
Q: What has the last year been like for you coming back from injury?
Okeke: The last year has basically been working out and making sure my knee gets better, trying to get back healthier. There have been some hard parts, but I'd say what's really been keeping my mind occupied is that I took the time off to really get closer to God. I've just been reading the Bible and trying to get closer to God. So I've been rehabbing, trying to get my leg back stronger and just getting closer to God. That's all it's been.
Q: What did you think when @AuburnMBB recalled last year's Final Four run?
Okeke: It felt good. It felt like I was watching a 30 for 30 on Auburn basketball. It just felt good reliving those moments, making history with the team. During a dark time like this, it was cool for them to put that on the page to make everybody smile again and see what Auburn did.
A night we'll never forget.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/VXdoWbJs2w
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 29, 2020
Q: What's the future entail for Chuma Okeke?
Okeke: The plan is to be better than I was before. I feel much stronger than before. I'm just going to go out there like I never got hurt. That's the way I have to attack it.
Q: You were a first-round pick last year. Now there's talk that Isaac Okoro could be a top-10 pick. What's that say about Auburn and the direction the program is headed?
Okeke: Isaac is a real good player, a real humble player. He's Nigerian, too. His parents are Nigerian. They're real cool. Everybody in his family is real humble. He's real humble person off the court, but you wouldn't be able to tell that on the court by the way he plays.
Before I even went to Auburn, there were people saying, 'Auburn hasn't had a draft pick since this amount of years.' I'm like, 'Why can't I come in and change that?' I came in and changed that. Now Isaac is coming in and changing that. Then whoever is next is going to come in and change that. Now it's going be like, 'Auburn has had this amount of picks for this many years straight' when it used to be 'Auburn has never had a pick for this amount of years.' We really came in and changed the program for the better. I'm really thankful for that.
The same with Jared and Bryce, that's why they committed there. To change the program. And also because they were overlooked. They didn't really have that many offers, but they showed everybody why they should've had all these offers. As the underdog, you're proving everybody wrong every chance you get, and that's what they did. They said Jared was too small, and he played in an NBA game this year and scored. Proving everybody wrong again.
Q: What would your message be to the Auburn fans?
Okeke: First, I would like to tell them thank you for your support. For those two years and even going on with my injury – thank you for all the prayers. I haven't really been on social media, so they haven't had a chance to interact with me like they did, but that's just part of me focusing on God and focusing on this rehab and trying to get back 100 percent healthy. But I just want to thank them for everything. Auburn really has made me a better man and a better person. I didn't even think that could happen, but it did.