Muscle? Skill? Heart? Most prep kids are lucky to have one of these attributes, but 5-11 Stephanie Okowi who just graduated from Oakland Tech? She doesn’t just have just strength, desire, or ability.
She has what her fav rapper, Florida native Rob Wave calls the greatest superpower above all others: she cares in an uncaring world.
How she do as a player, what kind of person is she E-Woods? S-Okowi wants to be a social worker that looks after kids caught up in the system in a society that too often looks the other way.
And she can flat out play.
Is this a hoop story, or a story of hope? It’s both and neither. It’s the realization that sometimes you wish you had a normal upbringing, whatever normal is. Stephanie herself was a product of the foster care system.
She has a burning desire to help lil kids who dream of being looked after well. That’s what we all deserve, but how many of us get that?
I think Stephanie is brave to tell her story. She explains, “I just want have a career where I can help kids feel safe and cared for.”
She is them, they are her. One could only hope to have a friend as dope as Stephanie in life. She’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever encountered, uplifting vibe, cool peoples.
On court this girl can play, play. Breaking down her game from a talent evaluator’s perspective, she has an in-game motor from tip off to the last whistle, non stop to the rim. S-Okawi is just a physical force of bap, bap, all-over-the-place production.
You need inside scoring? She got you. Need some mad rebounds snatched, tight defense played? She’s on it. Real talk? Her IQ is there. Her swag and emerging skill set remind me of Alexis Whitfield of Chaminade High who will be playing for U of Washington next year.
S-Okowi just needs polish in the outside shooting department, lots of reps and better touch from mid range, and if she starts to master that pull up J, watch out. Refining perimeter and small forward skills stuff, she has the confidence to be a 3 level scorer from the triple threat position.
Stephanie is well loved by many. Someone I respect is her former Emery High coach Erin, who besides coaching also runs a non-profit that helps the needy in Oakland. She describes Stephanie as a competitor and great person.
Erin details, “What makes Stephanie so special is her sparkle and her fearlessness. Her sparkle makes everyone around her a better player and person. Her fearlessness propels her to keep learning, keep moving forward. She’s an authentic person who isn’t afraid to speak up for what she thinks is right.
“I’ve been lucky to have great guards play for me that went on to earn full scholarships, and Stephanie is of that caliber, not just as a player, but as a person. I know she has the tenacity, vision and talent to make her dreams come true. I am proud to have had the amazing opportunity to work with her.”
S-Okawi was a very good baller in prep and she killed it on the AAU scene for her Cali Ballaz squad, but what’s the real story with her? Girl has to be one of the most articulate youngsters ever. She’s proud of her Oakland and Nigerian roots, she’s down for the struggle, never letting life get the better of her.
S-Okowi just signed to play for U of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. Me, E-Woods, I’ve never met a kid with Nigerian roots in their background that didn’t want to ball out for Stanford. How much do I care about Steph? Much! Her soul reminds me of Candice Wiggins, former WNBA star and Stanford's all-time best player.
Click here for Erik's feature story on Candice Wiggins
I’m proud of C-Wiggins, she’s my girl because she overcame major childhood frustrations and became a champion at hoop and for kids! S-Okawi will undoubtedly help many kids in the future too!
Need an example of Stephanie balling? I wish I could’ve been there to see her drop 27 point, 18 rebounds, 1 steal vs Clovis High. It must have been a performance for the ages as her team was trying to win the CIF Division 2 chip in early March.
But Covid-19 stole her team’s chance to win it all. It’s not wins and losses that impress me when I talk to Steph, it’s her dazzling personality. If you talk to her enough she’ll steal your heart, 1 convo at a time. 100.
Steph has an extremely articulate nature and an eloquent voice that has me feeling like I’m talking to famed poet Maya Angelou. Stephanie has loved the game of basketball since her west side Oakland Boys and Girls Club days.
I asked Steph to tell me how it feels to ball, she told me, “When I’m on the court I feel free, yet locked into a goal. I enjoy the competition and I always felt that basketball would take me places.
"My dreams are to go to a high level college, make my family proud, maybe be a history major, be a social worker that makes a difference, that’s the plan.”
#Stephanie is a dope girl
Feel some Rob Wave lyrics that Stephanie identifies with on her journey:
“All of this ish that you had to go through, bruh
They don't understand.
I have to die before somebody respect me.”
Stephanie? You can’t hold her down. On court, she’s so strong, determined. I need to offer her an ultimate compliment. Marshawn Lynch, that ever dope and famous NFL running back who attended Oakland Tech, once gave me a quote on a player doing work vs. his alma mater. He called my guy JaKobe a “bad bad boy in game”.
I bet if Marshawn saw Stephanie wreak destruction in game, he’d call her a “bad bad girl in game” fosho!
Her sisters said stick to soccer. Nah, just like Micheal Jordan’s brothers told him to stop following them to the playground, Stephanie wasn’t having it.
S-Okawi is about this game, wearing 23 like MJ, and like LeBron she is a force to be reckoned with ever since that first day the woman referee took her off to the side and told her she could be good.
Let me share a deep story to relate how others project racism, prejudice in our world. I told an acquaintance I hoop with named Harold from 24 Hour Fitness, who grew up in the Bay Area. I told him about Stephanie being from Oakland Tech, her wanting to ball at Stanford.
Ignorantly, Harold says, “Girls from Oakland Tech don’t go to good D1 schools, they’re not cut out for it.” My fist of fury balled up in my heart and I just walked away from dude, pissed, I’m thinking he just doesn’t know.
This is bigger than Stephanie. This is showing the world what’s up getting to a great school from the Oakland area. When will we ever escape stereotypes?
E-Woods usually does stories on SoCal kids, prospects, but I have love for NorCal. This is my proof because I’m put on for Oak-town where my guy Lamond Murray gave me so many stories about how he worked at Cal and the Clips of the NBA in the 90’s. I have love for the whole world. One love. Real talk.
I respect that Stephanie wants to help people, maybe it’s because I’ve been an educator for decades that I can tell the BS person from the one who has truly become awoke, has urgency in their heart and manner.
S-Okowi is the real deal so stand up with me, applaud her future mission to help others, clap for a girl out to change the world. One buck.
Is this a personal story for you E-Woods? Nah, personal was 2 miles back, this is raw, real. Stephanie is me, I am her, we both just wanting to help others, that’s our core.
Example? I have 7 Nigerian families from various parts of SoCal, ultra successful, and I think of them every time I hear them referred to in derogatory terms like when President Trump called Africa “shi^ hole countries.”
I’ve told these 7 families of Stephanie and her dream and they have pledged to be there for their fellow Nigerian and to support her, like my girl Kiki of Harvard Westlake, my girl Rose ballin at Pepperdine, Dexter at Marquette, Omamoke at Oaks Christian.
I could go on and on, the point is, it takes a village. A village is ready to support the wonderful Stephanie Okawi, as S-Okawi plans to be that supporting social worker in the future.
You can hear it in Stephanie’s voice, in fact in anyone’s voice that hasn’t had a fair shake, yet is out to help others. It’s clear, refreshing, remarkable and honest in tone. Someone who has been knocked down, yet still gets up, their particular type of voice fills your eardrum with determination and love. 100.
I used to listen to Oakland rapper Too Short when I was 18. I’d visit my aunt Karen in the Bay Area, but all I truly know is SoCal. My guy Talib Zaid helps run Nike in SoCal, although he was born and raised in East Oakland before moving to Ventura County in high school in the 90’s.
I asked Talib to tell me the difference, how was his transition from “The Town” to here in SoCal. Hear his wise answer, “I used to live in Oakland like Stephanie. The streets there are more busy, so much going on. They can pull on you, they can pull you in, you can get caught up without even trying.
“Here in Ventura and Moorpark where I live, I’ve been able to spread my wings, grow as a person, be able to feel the fresh air, get in tune with something different. Never forgetting where I came from, but appreciating where I’m at, at the same time.”
That’s a dope reflection from a good dude who, besides his Nike gig, makes dope documentaries after he finished film school.
I guess I’m in awe of Stephanie, amazed at her raw talent, I wish I could play the game as well as her. Let’s feel some more Rob Wave lyrics which Stephanie feels rep her spirit:
“I don't really F with no rappers
All these nig^^s hustling backwards
Misguiding the youth
But long as I know the truth
That's another subject for after”
Poetry comes in many forms, sometimes rap, sometimes in the hoop game of a dope baller such as Stephanie. She wants to major in social work and history, maybe because she wants to change history for misguided youth.
I told S-Okowi I hope she visits SoCal so I can link up with her and intro her to some kids a lil younger than her that she could mentor. There’s a grip of NBA and WNBA trainers that would like to assist her, on this noble journey of hers.
I reminded her that pro women ball players can make $50,000 to 200,000 a month after college if you’re dope at hooping in college. I want no part of her bread, I’m not out to point her to an agent, I just want to be there for her. My goal to inspire people on.
The greatest? It exists where you least expect it, where you put the most effort, your muscles, heart, and skill.
Stephanie is breathtaking to me, yet it’s her heart, which powers her lungs, shoots breath out her mouth, that’s beyond breathtaking to me.
Best part? It’s only beginning for this dope kid, out to be THE GREATEST and best version of herself. 100.
