Stanford Basketball: Harvard transfer Chisom Okpara a much-need pickup for 2024-25

It's been a slow rebuilding process for Stanford Basketball but they managed to land a big name in former Harvard starter, Chisom Okpara.

In the transfer portal/NIL era, some teams will have obvious advantages over others, due to resources. But there are also some who are at a disadvantage, thanks to having high academic admission standards, which can be a barrier for a large portion of players in the portal.

Stanford Basketball is certainly one of them, known for being the most prestigious academic program among the power conferences. So compared to others, including the teams in their new conference (ACC), it's been harder for them to add talent.

Outside of retaining star forward Maxime Raynaud, it's been slow for the Cardinals' roster building. The transfers they've landed so far includes Cole Kastner, Derin Seran, and Oziyah Sellers, a former USC guard. But their latest pickup is the most notable to date.

Chisom Okpara is a 6'8 forward from New York who broke out as a sophomore at Harvard this past season. He averaged 16.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg on 48% shooting from the field in 24 starts. Okpara had eight games with at least 20 points, including 25 points and eight rebounds against Dartmouth.

Towards the end of May, there aren't too many quality players left in the transfer portal that are good enough to play in the ACC. And there's even fewer that respectfully, could get into Stanford University. So in a way, landing Okpara was a "must" for the program.

With the latest addition, Stanford Basketball has 10 players on its roster. The one proven power conference contributor is Raynuad, with the hope that Sellers can break out in a larger role. They'll need Okpara to be a key piece as well to have any hope of being competitive in the ACC.

If nothing else, the Cardinal should have one of the more potent frontcourts in the league next season.