Ten Greatest VMI Basketball Players: Number 7

Stan the Man at work

Hometown: Raleigh, NC
High School: Knightdale
Years at VMI: 2009-13
Position: Forward
-2012-13 Big South Player of the Year
-4th all-time leading point scorer
-2nd all-time leading rebounder
-5th all-time leading shot blocker


If there is any VMI basketball statistic that has ever existed, you are more than likely to find Stan Okoye near or at the top of it. A powerful 6 foot, 6 inch "small forward", there was hardly a position on the floor that Stan the Man could not play. He could post up, attack the lane, pull up for a three, and play smothering defense. A native of Raleigh, a popular Big South recruiting pool, Stan somehow received only two Division I scholarships; VMI and Big South rival Campbell. Inexplicably, the Camels withdrew their offer only a day after making it, leaving Stan no choice but to attend VMI if he wanted to play scholarship ball at the highest level.

Stan attended Knightdale High School where he was a basketball standout and led the Knights (appropriately named) to 73 wins from 2005 to 2009. He scored over 1,300 points and hauled in 550 rebounds, both school records. In a Class 4A playoff game, Okoye dropped a single-game record 42 points. The fact that he received little attention from mid-major colleges only added to his motivation.

Were it not for support from teammates, Stan may never have appeared in a VMI uniform at all. The Ratline broke him down physically and mentally, but he managed to hang tough. "I stuck it out because of the other guys," he said. "I figured if they could take it, I could too." As it turns out, it was the best decision he could have made.

Stan made an impression early on, averaging 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds culminating in a spot on the Big South All-Freshman Team. His sophomore year, Stan led the conference in field goal percentage and upped his averages with 16.8 PPG and eight rebounds. In 2011–12, Okoye (along with Jordan Weethee's absurd three-point shooting) led VMI to a Big South championship game appearance before succumbing to UNC Asheville on their home floor. Asheville would lose to the #1 seed Syracuse on a pair of awfully blown calls.

Stan had a breakout senior season, averaging 21.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists en route to a Big South Player of the Year award. He became one of only five Keydets to reach the 2,000-point plateau, and is the school's second all-time leading rebounder behind Dave "Mongo" Montgomery. Might I add that he is tied for fifth in blocks and sixth in 30+ point scoring games, with nine of them.

An Honor Court member, a winner of the prestigious Three Legged Stool award, and VMI's first Big South Player of the Year; there may be a small few better than him, but none are more decorated than Stan Okoye.

Stan's Full Stats
VMI Bio