Nick Piccone
Jahlil Okafor is heading back to Duke University because he’s had enough of the Sixers to complete his education. Okafor, who left college after his freshman year, vowed to his family to finish his education. Now, he’s showing he meant it.
Becoming an NBA player was a goal. Earning his college degree was a commitment. Okafor vowed to his late mother and other family members he would finish school if he made it to the pros. Now that he has his first season under his belt, he is following through on that promise.
“Everybody in my family has a degree of some sort,” Okafor said. “My dad has his Master’s. My aunt, who’s like my mom now, she has her Ph.D. It was always instilled in me — the importance of getting a degree.”
Okafor will return to school after rehabbing his knee, and he said he’ll also spend time with his old college coach, Mike Krzyzewski, while following the same rehab schedule down at Duke. In March, Okafor had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. “I’ll be down there, [to] work out, get healthy of course, and be under the leadership of Coach K a little bit,” he said.
Good for Jahlil.