A little over a year ago, Onyeka Okongwu was an 18-year-old freshman at USC gearing up for his first college season. He spent the entire summer in the gym working on his game after being snubbed as a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in high school.
“Not getting a McDonald’s nod probably benefited me in the long run,” Okongwu told Yahoo Sports. “It definitely hurt at the time but when I got to USC, there were no expectations for me and I just played my style of basketball and got to do it without any pressure.”
Prior to the college season even starting, USC took an overseas trip to Spain and France where the team played three games against professional teams and finished the tour undefeated.