Portland State Basketball has added big man Namdi Okonkwo to its roster for 2015-16. Head Coach Tyler Geving announced the signing of Okonkwo to a National Letter of Intent on Monday.

Okonkwo is the sixth signing to the Viking program for the coming year and may be the most intriguing. A 7-foot, 205-pound center from Dallas, TX, Okonkwo did not play high school basketball. He first played the game while attending Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix, AZ. As a result he received a scholarship to play at Western Wyoming Junior College where he has competed for the past two years.

"The thing we really like about Namdi is that he is only scratching the surface of how good he can be," said Geving. "He has grown leaps and bounds as a player the last few years and his upside is very good. He is going to get better every day and I think the sky is the limit for this guy.

"Namdi's strength is obviously defensively. He is a very good shot blocker and moves his feet extremely well so thats a good start on the defensive end. Namdi is an explosive jumper; he gets up quick, hits the ground and gets up quick again."

As a sophomore at Western Wyoming, Okonkwo averaged 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 20.1 minutes per game. He shot .541 from the field while starting 30 of 32 games for 22-10 Mustangs.

Portland State completed a 15-14 season in 2014-15. The Vikings were sixth in the 12-team Big Sky Conference with a 9-9 record. PSU will return five letterwinners, three starters and two redshirts in 2015-16. 

Geving has now signed six student-athletes for next season. He anticipates at least one more this spring.

NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT SIGNEE - May 18
Namdi Okonkwo, C, 7-0, 205, JR, JC, Dallas, TX (Westwind Prep/Western Wyoming JC) - (name pronounced NAM-dee oh-KONK-whoa)

PREVIOUS NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT SIGNINGS
Khari Holloway, G, 6-2, 185, JR, JC, Jackson, MS (Mountain Pointe (AZ)/Mesa CC) - (name pronounced KY-ree) - April 28
Evan Garrison, G, 5-10, 170, JR, JC, Tigard, OR (Tigard HS/Clark College) - April 21
De'Sean Parsons, G, 6-7, 190, JR, JC, Sacramento, CA (Grant Union HS/Salt Lake CC) - April 15
Isaiah Pineiro, F, 6-6, 210, SO, JC, Auburn, CA (Placer HS/Sierra College) - April 15
Torrian Epps, G, 6-4, 200, JR, JC, Holbrook, AZ (Holbrook HS/Howard JC/Central Arizona) - Nov. 19