Big man Ochefu blossoming for Wildcats

Jay Wright remembers the first time he saw Daniel Ochefu compete for Westtown School against future NCAA Division I players Amile Jefferson, Rakeem Christmas, and Savon Goodman, and how impressed he was with Ochefu's commitment to team play.

"He never got into one-on-one battles," Wright recalled. "He always would do whatever it took for his team to win. His team won two championships against really talented guys that had better individual stats. But his team won. I found that really intriguing about him and unique. His only concern was whether his team won. It was never anything individual."

Now the 6-foot-11 Ochefu is showing the same commitment at Villanova with a versatility that has proven essential in keeping the Wildcats in the top 10 of the national rankings and at 17-2 entering their game Sunday night against Creighton at the Pavilion.

The center has shown glimpses of dominance, particularly in his 19-point, 24-rebound performance Jan. 3 at Seton Hall, or a fine all-around game of 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists last weekend against Penn at the Palestra. He accounted for five blocked shots in the Cats' Big East opener against Butler.

Some of his accomplishments this season have started some thinking about Ochefu's future in the NBA given his size, quickness, athleticism, intelligence, and the all-around skills he began developing at Westtown. For now, though, it's a matter of continuing to improve at what he's doing and not being reluctant to finish his college career.

"He's certainly on the right path," said an NBA scout who asked not to be identified. "But I don't think he's ready right now. He's really got to improve his consistency. He has made great strides, and if he continues to make those strides next year he'll be a solid NBA prospect."

Ochefu, who admits that the NBA has been a goal since high school, said it isn't something that he spends any time thinking about during the season. If he did, it would hurt the team.

"Honestly, I feel like for me to think about the NBA during the season is selfish because we're trying to do big things as a team, and we have an ultimate team goal," the congenial junior said last week. "I can't take away attention from the team and think about the NBA and myself.

"I know I have to work harder and get better every day. We know if we listen to Coach and we're hard workers, at the end of the day, we're going to have a good shot of reaching that goal."

Wright said he would love to see Ochefu continue to improve and become a first-round draft pick. He said the "final piece" in achieving that would be learning how to dominate against different defenses. He contrasted his performance at Seton Hall, whose big man, Angel Delgado, was saddled with foul trouble, with that against more physical Xavier - six points, six rebounds.

Seth Berger, the coach of Westtown School, remembers the time he first saw Ochefu as an eighth grader competing in the age-group finals at 76ers summer camp:

"On one possession, Daniel blocked a shot, got the rebound of his own block, threw the outlet, ran down the floor, missed the layup, ran back down the floor, blocked the shot again, and threw the outlet again after another rebound. How many kids who are 6-7 and 13 years old were going to run the floor that hard, that fast? That doesn't happen."

Ochefu's parents had moved the family from Baltimore to Nigeria, his father's native country, when he was 12 years old to experience the lifestyle and get to know family members. During a trip back to the States, they visited Westtown after Berger showed an interest in their son and approved of the school's focus on academics.

Ochefu boarded at Westtown during his freshman year and much of his sophomore year until his parents returned. He lived with Berger and his family during the summer and on breaks when he didn't return home.

Wright credits Berger with teaching Ochefu how to play facing the basket so he could make full use of his skills. Berger said it was easy to teach a young man "who showed up with this high basketball IQ like he was a point guard in the center spot."

But there was more to Ochefu than just being able to do everything Berger wanted.

"The reality is, we coaches don't teach that much different stuff; it's up to the kid to do the work," said Berger, who cofounded the AND-1 shoe and apparel company before becoming a full-time coach.

"So the number of times that I would come into practice and see Daniel with his headphones on, by himself, on a court downstairs, practicing on what we had just worked on the day before . . . it had to be at least three to four times a week that I would see him before practice working out on his own."

Although not a prolific scorer, Ochefu, who committed to Villanova at the end of his junior season, became the third Westtown player to reach 1,000 points. He left Westtown late in his final year, reportedly because of a disciplinary issue, and graduated from Downingtown East. He has remained close to Berger, whom he calls "like a second father."

"I wasn't just a big guy out there, I was a basketball player," Ochefu said. "He worked on all the little things that would help me become a great player at the next level. So Seth definitely was, and still is, a big factor in my development."

When it was decided that Ochefu would attend Villanova, his mother's plan for him was to become a priest.

"I think deep down in her heart she still thinks she wants me to be a priest," Ochefu, a liberal-arts major with an economics minor, said with a nervous laugh. "It's a mother's dream, I guess. But I feel like I'm not the type to join the priesthood. Priests have a very difficult lifestyle, and I have a lot of respect for them."

Wright's focus for Ochefu was on being patient with him.

"It's harder for the player because when you get a good big guy, everybody expects him to dominate right away," he said. "When he doesn't, they're critical of him. If a guard struggles early, they just say: 'He's young.' But if a big guy struggles early, they say: 'He's no good.'

"You can't dominate until your skill and your experience get to a certain level. I really admire Daniel's patience in dealing with the expectations, criticism, and advice of people. He just stuck to the plan, kept working, and never got frustrated."

Ochefu said the coaches' patience with him has helped with his own impatience with himself.

"Explaining to me and understanding it's a process and not just going to happen overnight is really just the thing that made me come back into the gym every day and just want to get better," he said. "Their patience with me the first two years was big in my development."

Ochefu's averages grew from 3.5 points and 4.1 rebounds his freshman year to 5.7 and 6.9 during his sophomore season, and he was named co-most improved player in the Big East with teammate Darrun Hilliard. He is averaging 10.1 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds this season.

Wright and his staff, particularly associate head coach Baker Dunleavy, this season have helped Ochefu develop more of a back-to-the-basket, low-post offensive game that has put him on the NBA radar.

"I think that makes him complete," Wright said. "He's got his go-to, which is a jump hook. Then if they take that away, he's going to counter when he takes a guy to the middle and then spins baseline."

Ochefu remains an effective passer out of the post and in the open court. Wright is still raving about a pass he made last weekend against the Penn press that set up Ryan Arcidiacono for a corner three-ball.

The skills appear to be in place for Ochefu. Now he needs to develop the consistency to be successful on an every-game basis. As for the patience shown his first two seasons, it's time to step it up.

"Now the time for patience is running out," he said. "I'm experienced now. I'm a better player. I'm needed more on the team, on the court. So I'm glad that now they don't really have to be patient as much. They can just rely on me."

Spoken like a rising NBA prospect.