THE ATHLETIC DATE: 11/19/2020 USC coach Andy Enfield explains what Hawks are getting in Onyeka Okongwu By: Chris Kirschner https://theathletic.com/2209183/2020/11/19/onyeka-okongwu-draft-hawks-usc/ A trip to France and Spain solidified USC coach Andy Enfield’s perception that Onyeka Okongwu, a five- star center from Chino Hills (Calif.) High School, was going to pan out for the Trojans. In August 2019, before Okongwu officially played a game for USC, it was clear he was going to be a special player. USC played three games against lower-level overseas professional teams, and Okongwu dominated. Enfield joked that just two hours after diving off a catamaran into the Mediterranean Sea, Okongwu played as if the NCAA title was on the line. Against a French select team, Okongwu had 28 points with nine rebounds in a comeback win for the Trojans, and he helped lead them to a 3-0 record. He averaged 21 points on 76 percent shooting and more than nine rebounds per game in the overseas trip. USC came back to the United States and played in a charity exhibition game benefitting the wildfire relief fund in California against Villanova. Okongwu scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. In just those four games, Enfield saw a player who was trying to be as dominant as he possibly could to help USC win. “We went into the season, and he kept getting better and better,” Enfield said of Okongwu, who was drafted in the first round by the Hawks on Wednesday. “I was more impressed when we got into our Pac-12 season. He improved so much defensively. We were playing good players. I think nine Pac-12 players were drafted (Wednesday) night, so he learned how to switch on ball screens and keep guards in front of him. He learned how to prevent players from getting deep post touches. He learned how to rotate and be a help-side defender. He’s a terrific shot blocker with great timing. He was playing against some really good big men in the Pac-12. Zeke Nnaji, Isaiah Stewart, Jaden McDaniels and Tyler Bey all got drafted. There were a lot of good players in the league. UCLA had an outstanding front line. Every night he was challenged. By the end of the year, it was a given conclusion that he was going to be a high first-round draft pick because of what he accomplished.” Enfield started recruiting Okongwu when he was a ninth grader at Chino Hills. The Southern California high school was dominant, going undefeated and winning a state championship and a mythical national championship. At the time, Okongwu wasn’t a well-known prospect as he shared the floor with LaMelo, LiAngelo and Lonzo Ball. The Ball brothers were always on the radar, but Enfield couldn’t help but notice the little things Okongwu did — run the floor, rebound and kick out to whichever Ball brother was open and block shots. Okongwu’s unselfishness stood out on a fast-paced, up-tempo team that scored in bunches. He continued improving as a sophomore and became the star as a junior after LaMelo Ball, who was drafted third by Charlotte, left the school. Okongwu led Chino Hills to two more state titles while he continued developing his game and turned himself into one of the most heavily sought recruits in the nation. “When you watched him, all he cared about was winning,” Enfield said. “We thought we had a special, talented and unselfish player coming to USC. He turned out to be exactly what we thought. “LaMelo was his high school teammate and gets a lot of the hype, and rightly so because he’s a terrific player and going to be a great NBA player, but Onyeka slid under the radar because his last name isn’t Ball. Now, people are starting to realize how talented and special of a player Onyeka is. I think he’s going to help the Hawks win a lot of games because that’s what he does. All he does is contribute to winning.” Okongwu helped lead USC to a 22-9 record while turning himself into a lottery pick along the way. Enfield said he started receiving feedback from NBA teams in January with preliminary background checks into Okongwu’s character and work ethic. Halfway through the Pac-12 season, it was clear to Enfield that the NBA was high on Okongwu and the likelihood of being a one-and-done prospect was high. Even as the NBA’s interest in him grew, Okongwu stayed the same. Enfield said Okongwu wanted to win every drill in practice and beat the upperclassmen in scrimmages every time he could. Enfield compares Okongwu’s demeanor to that of former USC guard De’Anthony Melton, who is likely in line for a nice payday as a free agent. Melton arrived at USC as an unheralded local three-star prospect who just wanted to win in everything. Enfield said he considers both players overachievers compared to what people thought of them entering college. And overachieve is what Okongwu did. He averaged more than 16 points on 62 percent shooting, 8.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.2 steals per game at USC. With the Hawks trading Dewayne Dedmon to Detroit on Thursday in exchange for wing Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas, whom the Hawks waived, Okongwu likely will be Clint Capela’s backup. If things go well for Okongwu, he projects as a higher-level player in Capela’s mold and could reach the level of Bam Adebayo, to whom Okongwu has often been compared because he’s an undersized center who has the strength, athleticism and wingspan to excel as a modern big man. “When I watch NBA games now, teams have to have an athletic big man who can run to the rim and set ball screens,” Enfield said. “There are so many ball screens in the NBA now, and Onyeka is one of the best I’ve ever seen at it. He can set a ball screen, and he can roll to the rim — you can throw it 12 feet in the air, and he’ll go catch it, so you have your rim runner. He could also short roll, and he’s skilled enough to take one or two dribbles and make plays for his teammates or himself. He doesn’t need to post up and have his back to the basket to be very effective, but the nice thing is that a lot of ball screens do end up in post-ups like we had last year. We had a lot of post plays to get him the ball because in the college game, he was our leading scorer, and we did need to get him the ball. He did post up a lot for us because we needed to get Onyeka the ball. “He’s a tremendous finisher with both hands around the rim. He has great post moves. He’s got an extremely quick first step. He can face up and rip it through in a triple threat position. He’s great with his back to the basket and can spin and finish with both hands. He does things with his touch that most big guys can’t do. He’s a tremendous offensive player. He’s quick enough to get by you with his first step.” The Hawks believe in Okongwu’s potential as a shooter because he shot better than 70 percent from the free-throw line, an indicator that he could turn into a highly desirable stretch five, but that’s going to take time. He didn’t take many jump shots at USC, and when he did, it didn’t look natural. There’s optimism he can grow into a shooter like John Collins has in his three years with the Hawks. Collins was a non-shooter through his time at Wake Forest and now is one of the purest shooters on the Hawks, having led them in 3-point shooting last season. Okongwu turning into that level of shooter is the dream, but it might take three years to get to that comfort level. Even if the shot doesn’t come along or takes longer than three years, the level of production Okongwu showed at USC was astounding as he was in the same company as Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid as players with better than 60 percent true shooting, at least a 9.5 percent block rate and a 2 percent steal rate. Grizzlies big man Brandon Clarke reached those numbers at Gonzaga and was one of the best rookies last season. It remains to be seen how much will be expected of Okongwu this season, as he’s just 19 and the Hawks want to reach the playoffs. General manager Travis Schlenk said on Wednesday night he still envisions Collins getting some small-ball five minutes, which could cut into Okongwu’s playing time. The trade of Dedmon does allow Okongwu to have a much bigger role than what he likely would have had if the Hawks had not made that move on Thursday. Expectations should not be as high in Okongwu’s rookie season because he won’t be expected to start right away like the draft picks who’ve come before him. As Enfield reflected on his one year with Okongwu, it was apparent how much Okongwu meant to Enfield and to USC. He believes the Hawks landed a future star.