UCLA center Ikenna Okwarabizie will be sidelined for six months after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound reserve joined the Bruins this past season after spending a year at Tyler Junior College in Texas. He only made seven appearances as a sophomore, grabbing four rebounds in 13 minutes.
Days after missing on a major frontcourt recruit, UCLA has landed 6-foot-10 big man Ikenna Okwarabizie out of Tyler Junior College.
Okwarabizie grew up in Nigeria, but played his senior year of high school at Sioux City (Iowa) East before spending his first season of college ball 100 miles east of Dallas. According to the Sioux City Journal, he also drew interest from Iowa, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech.
The Bruins have considered offering the 245-pounder as early as last October.
I'm proud and happy to say that I'm now a Bruin. #UCLAbound
— iyke (@iykerulez1) April 19, 2015
Okwarabizie averaged 6.5 points and 7.0 rebounds through his lone JUCO season, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from the line. His announcement on Sunday morning helps add depth to UCLA’s frontline, which lost all-conference forward Kevon Looney to the NBA draft and little-used reserve Wanaah Bail to a transfer.