Jahlil Okafor is Continuing His Education at Duke

Jahlil Okafor is reportedly continuing his higher education this summer at Duke University, where he won a national championship.

These days, it’s very rare that a top-3 NBA draftee spends all four years of his college basketball eligibility. Jahlil Okafor, who now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, came in as a center at Duke University, and was a part of a national championship winning team. After his freshman year, he had compiled enough attention from NBA teams to declare for the NBA Draft and be confident that he would be selected close to the beginning of the first round. That he did, as the Sixers took him third overall.

So, Okafor spent just one of his college years at Duke. His playing career as a collegiate player was over, but his academic career was put on hold. After an interesting first season, though, Okafor is going back to Duke University to take summer classes and further his education, according to Brian Seltzer.

Okafor’s rookie season was a good one on the floor. He dealt with a fair amount of minor injuries, and was sidelined for the final 23 games of the season. Before going out for the year, though, Okafor averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He was able to score well in whatever position he was challenged with.

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Athletes often have the option to participate in online classes during the season if they feel they can handle the workload along with the traveling and brutal schedule of the NBA, but it can often be a lot. Electing to take classes in the summer and work towards an associates degree or a bachelors degree can be a good step for players, especially if they plan to pursue work after their NBA careers. Many pursue degrees in broadcast journalism or mass communication to join the many former athletes who work as analysts on ESPN and other major sports networks.

At the same time, while fans should be happy that Okafor didn’t have to worry about classes and his rookie season, perhaps if he had responsibilities off the court he wouldn’t have gotten into as much trouble as he did this season.

There were several incidents that had Okafor showing up in TMZ this year. He was involved in a street fight in Boston, was caught going 108 miles per hour on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and allegedly had a gun pointed at him outside of an Old City nightclub in Philadelphia.

Now, though, it’s going to be good for Okafor to be back and doing something with his summer. Clearly, he doesn’t always know how to spend his free-time wisely, and school will give him something to do over the summer. Additionally, there isn’t as much trouble to get into at Duke — although there still is the opportunity to — as there is in Philly. There won’t be as many students on campus since it will be the summer semester.

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Also according to Seltzer’s report Okafor is said to be ready to go in about a month for on-court action. Jah likely still has connections with the athletic training staff at Duke and could make use of the familiarity and the medical staff available to rehab his injury.