Memphis basketball’s Baraka Okojie expected to be cleared soon

One of Memphis basketball’s top rotation pieces should return to the hardwood next month.

Baraka Okojie, a 6-foot-3 point guard, is expected to be cleared sometime between Oct. 11 and Oct. 25, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. Okojie underwent shoulder surgery in June and has been sidelined ever since.

This means the George Mason transfer could participate in at least one of Memphis’ upcoming exhibitions against North Carolina (Oct. 15) and Alabama (Oct. 28). Penny Hardaway’s club begins its regular season against Missouri on Nov. 4 inside FedExForum.

Okojie averaged 8.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.8% from the field last season for the Patriots after reclassifying from 2024 to 2023. He ultimately made 10 starts and 32 total appearances as his role increased throughout the season.

Okojie, who hails from Brampton, Ontario in Canada, averaged 34 minutes per game in George Mason’s final five outings. This included a 22-point performance against St. Joe’s in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament, where Okojie shot 60% from the field to go along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. But GMU still fell short 64-57 despite the 19-year-old’s phenomenal showing.

Okojie—a former standout for both DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida and Canada Elite on the AAU circuit—also put up 11 points and 3 assists during a Dec. 5 meeting with eventual SEC Regular-Season Champion Tennessee, which advanced to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament. He enters next season with three years of eligibility remaining.

Okojie is one of the Tigers’ nine scholarship signees from the transfer portal this offseason. The other eight are PJ Haggerty, Dain Dainja, Colby Rogers, Tyrese Hunter, Tyreek Smith, Moussa Cisse, PJ Carter and Bouna Kebe.

Haggerty (6-foot-3) averaged 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for Tulsa last year, which helped him earn the AAC Freshman of the Year award.

Hunter (6-foot) averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 assists for Texas in 2023-24. He also won the Big 12 Freshman of the Year award at Iowa State in 2021-22, and is 6-3 in NCAA Tournament games.

Rogers (6-foot-4) scored 16.4 points per contest while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range (7.1 attempts per game) for Wichita State. Carter (6-foot-5) averaged 9.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 41.5% from the field and 40.3% from 3-point range in 31 appearances for UTSA.

Cisse (7-foot) and Smith (6-foot-8) averaged a combined 3.1 blocks per game last year for Ole Miss and SMU respectively. Dainja (6-foot-9) averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in limited minutes for an Illinois team that made the Elite Eight last season.

Kebe (6-foot-9) is a junior college transfer from Gillette (Wyoming).

Nick Jourdain (6-foot-9) started 25 of 32 games for the Tigers in 2023-24, and put up 6.5 points and 4 rebounds per contest. He is Memphis’ only returning scholarship player.

The Tigers—currently ranked No. 32 on barttorvik.com—also welcome 4-star freshman guard Jared Harris.