1985, E-Woods was a freshman when Hakeem Olajuwon was tearing up the NBA with crazy footwork never seen before on hardwood.
That work ethic came from his days in Nigeria grinding to be the best and I learned to respect and admire Nigerians since then for so many reasons.
Also in 85’? the R & B group New Edition was blaring on radios, fresher than fresh with songs like Cool It Now, Mr Telephone Man. Ooooh those smooth voices of Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe.
New Edition had so many fans in 85’, but this particular 6-3 freshman fan in 2019, she’s that NEW EDITION baller that reminds me of a young H-Olajuwon.
Omamoke Okah is that cool kid that can ball, a must see for her Oaks Christian High and Cal Storm AAU teams.
She’s just a great kid to be around, so worthy of celebration. 100.
But Omamoke is more than just an athletic kid that’s a beast on the boards, and her parents are 2 of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, happen to come from Nigeria.
What’s her strength as a player? She’s developing a low post game, getting comfortable down low, with some outside flashes of a jumper out to the free throw line. But Omamoke’s calling card is that she leaps high to snatch rebounds out of the air as easy as a kid’s pop bubbles, bop, bop, bop with ease.
You notice in game, she’s super sleek and graceful but she can flip that switch into kaboom, kaboom, kaboom mode and be a menace to the opposition, batting shots out of the air under the rim like Godzilla used to smack planes out of the air in movies.
It’s a no fly zone when Omamoke is in the house. She’ll tell you straight-up what her mentality is, “I don’t believe in mercy in a game, bring it on.” It’s whatever it takes to help her team get that win!
I watched her Cal Storm 16u squad all summer. She was running the comp off the edge of a cliff with her ultra talented team. The tempo was pushed by current 8th grader Serenity Johnson of Windward who was feeding Omamoke down low for buckets.
It was pretty dope to behold, also seeing freshman Queen Ruffin of Crossroads blend in her crazy handles and skill sets. I like to say Omamoke is like 3M, she doesn’t make the product, she just makes it better!
The reader should know that for as talented at hoop as Omamoke is, look for her to be ranked high in ESPN Gurlz and Prospect Nation.
Omamoke is so much more than basketball. I’ve been blessed to talk with her lots, her spirit touches you because she’s so moral, has this emphatic ethos code of giving.
Her quiet swag just oozes joy and if you’re lucky to get to know Omamoke, she can be shy when first getting to know people, it’s all worth it, as she opens up. You realize what such an amazing jewel of a person she is.
Talking with her helped me reconnect with my own freshman year in 85’ because we both have lots in common. O-Okah’s generation wears clean white Air Force 1’s just like my generation did in 1985.
Which favorite kicks does she like most? Nike vapor max please. Me, E-Woods, I would rock Air Jordan 1’s as a freshman. My fav color? Chicago black, red, and white, and Omamoke is a big fan of that shoe also.
She also really digs listening to old school Michael Jackson, as well as the modern day rap of Cardi B. If you the reader have never heard of New Edition, come feel the R & B flow and sing some lyrics with me on Cool It Now:
“You got to cool it now
Oh watch out
You're gonna loose control.”
See the music video, it’s no jive!
Real talk? I’ve been lucky to know some of the dopest athletes and kids to ever come out of Oaks Christian since it opened in 2000. From the Hornbuckle fam of ballers to the recently football fam, the Calverts (Bo and Josh Calvert were at my school).
But this Okah family, they’re special beyond special and could be my fav all time OC family I appreciate most in terms of dedication to education, athletic potential, and showing care for others.
They support their kids on the way to success and remind me a lot of an Oaks family dear to me, the Owusu family. Those kids attended there 15 years ago (most the Owusu’s played AAU hoop for E-Woods).
There was Chris who went to Stanford and the NFL, Brian who hooped at Harvard, Crystal b-balled at Columbia. Okah family - look for them to do big things also, they’re so talented and driven!
Omamoke’s father Daniel, he’s such a humble, good natured dude. You can always find him nurturing his own kids on the court in Moorpark. I ask him for advice about my own kid because he’s so wise, and his wife Dr. Rachel Okah has the biggest heart just like him.
I saw them mentor this local student from Nigeria recently and that spirit of giving was passed down to Omamoke and her older brother Zino. I really appreciate Zino who is a soph at OC. He was tearing it up last year for his Pro Skills AAU team and coach Watkins.
You will find E-Woods this year at Oaks watching lots of Zino and Malik Moore doing damage for the varsity, they’re worth checking no doubt.
Often I have readers ask me which youngster should I follow from SoCal that is destined to become one the best ballers in the country? Omamoke, she is the answer to that question. She reminds me of a young 6-3 Kiki Iriafen, that awesome kid and top 25 baller at Harvard Westlake.
Let’s hear about Omamoke’s dreams and why she loves her family so, “When life gets hard I let my parents’ faces come into my mind. It’s so calming, they are my life, they just pop into my head. The good messages that they’ve always given me, it just soothes me and my worries melt away.
“Our family, we are about helping others who might have real worries. We are proud to belong to Redeemed Christian Church of God which keeps me grounded in my faith. I also help in the summer with the Special Olympics. For me, it’s about thinking of others.
“My goal is to play hard in high school, go on to college, major in business or in sports medicine. My parents didn’t raise some kid who is into fooling around, I’m a committed person. I have personal goals, I maintain personal practices that will allow me to live up to those high goals.”
#Girl has her head on straight
I was hanging out with Omamoke’s family last season, in her 8th grade year. We were watching the UCLA vs. Oregon women’s game. She told me after calling them that she was invited to visit the campus because they respect her and her game. It was fun for Omamoke to see the game and hang out with the Bruin team right after it ended.
There was something special in Omamoke’s eyes that night, that said to E-Woods this kid is willing to put in the hard work, to be about all this, to play well at this level. This girl really impresses me, on and off the court.
Omamoke’s trainer George Albanez, who is so renowned for his skills, he’s a good guy that’s also the realest dude who says it like it is about his players. He had this to say about her, “Omamoke, she’s a great athlete, has a great family. What more can you ask.”
Let’s hear more from Omamoke on which prep hoop players she appreciates, “I appreciate the way Rayah Marshall and Alexis Whitfield play for our Cal Storm Team Taurasi squad. It’s more than how they play, they’re positive people. It’s more than just making smart passes out there, it’s how you carry yourself.
“I look up to and want to achieve success like Kiki Iriafen has. Getting to play in college is my goal, I love basketball. It’s also my goal to be a professional player one day. I really appreciated the kindness shown to me at UCLA by coaches Tony Newnan and Cori Close. They are so professional. For me, I wake up every morning, look up to the heavens, look to my future. I wake up every day and go running with my mom. I’ll play some 1 on 1 vs. my brother Zino in the backyard, I try to enjoy the moment.
“I just feel warm inside being loved. I’ve been given this philosophy of ‘never give up, never step down’ that powers me through my day. It powers my life and I’m blessed because I know best what is expected of me so l strive to play my BEST in each game when given the opportunity.”
The reader might ask how much do you really believe in Omamoke? Is she the truth E-Woods?
Let me offer a story to explain. When I was 14 years old and only a freshman, someone believed in me, gave me a pair of dope kicks. Suns and Laker legend Cedric Ceballos came into our 6th period b-ball class in Ventura High in 1985 to ball with me each day. So all the coaching and writing I’ve done over the years has been to pay that forward.
People who know me know I love buying exotic, rare kicks. My collection is a lil like my guy Swaggy P’s is. So a couple years ago I bought these incredible LeBron kicks, size 14, I wear em big. They were very rare, super fly, made of cork to celebrate LeBron winning a chip.
I started to put them on, and poof, something inside me said hold on Erik, these don’t belong to you, they belong on the feet for a person wearing men’s size 14, a person who is true of heart, plays the game like C-Ceballos did.
Those kicks collected dust, were waiting for the right guy. But guess what silly rabbit, it wasn’t a guy I found, it’s even more dope. Turns out I was saving them for the right girl who wears a size 14 men’s shoe: Omamoke!
I asked her to take a photo with me and she was gracious, see the dope photo below.
Who is Omamoke Okah and her family? They are greatness personified in many ways.
Greatness becomes them. Uplifting, dreaming, achieving, helping others along the way, they’re stylish, the epitome of an American family success.
So go out and see for yourself how Omamoke gets down and balls like few others, you won’t be disappointed. 100.
