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Mike O’Koren received the honor that is still closest to his heart.
If you are 50 or older and a rabid Tar Heel fan, you remember O’Koren as one of the most exciting players ever recruited by Dean Smith and his staff.
Sure, as a freshman, O’Koren scored the incredible 31 points against UNLV at the Final Four in Atlanta, a number of which came from feeds in Four Corners while the injured Tar Heels were hanging on to beat the powerhouse Rebels who had five starters in double figures, led by Eddie Owens, Reggie Theus and Glen Gondrezick. The 84-83 thriller came at the old Omni, you recall.
O’Koren was the sixth pick in the 1980 NBA draft and spent 10 seasons with the New Jersey Nets, playing home games a few blocks from where he grew up in the projects. Despite honors such as USA Today calling him the best all-around player in the NBA, O’Koren never strayed far from home, later as an analyst on the radio for the Nets after his retirement.
Last week, the kid who grew up on the famed playgrounds of Jersey City had the St. John’s Courts renamed the Mike O’Koren Courts in a ceremony that attracted more than 200 people. He credited the “older guys” on those courts teaching him so much about basketball that he eventually starred at Hudson Catholic (alongside former Duke star Jim Spanarkel) and became one of the most coveted recruits in the country.
It came down to playing at Duke with Spanarkel, going to his one-time dream school Notre Dame or accepting a scholarship from Smith and Carolina. Key in that decision was assistant coach Eddie Fogler, who grew up in a somewhat similar neighborhood in Queens, New York.
Fogler spoke the same language as O’Koren and his rowdy friends and greased the skids for when Smith, a mild-mannered Kansan, went up to meet Mike’s mother, Rosie, brother Ron and the rest of his rat pack.
Smith won the day and the battle, as O’Koren joined returning starters Walter Davis, Phil Ford, John Kuester and Tommy LaGarde on a team that won the ACC regular season, the tournament title and came agonizingly close to Smith’s first NCAA championship before losing to Marquette on Monday night.
Having made All-ACC, All-American and all-pro is no bigger than having his name on the fence at his old schoolyard.
“I spent so much time here playing and learning,” the OK Kid, now 65, told New Jersey blogger Jim Hague. “I have family and friends here. I’m glad to see this happen while I’m still here. I’ve been around the world and no matter where I go it always comes back to Jersey City.”
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I was there in a mid court seat!!!!! He was unbelievable! We would have crushed Marquette if LaGarde were not on crutches, Ford didn’t have a hyperextended elbow and Davis didn’t have a broken finger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, that was just one of several where injury conspired to do what the other team couldn’t. I figure Coach Smith should have at least two more championships but for the injury’s at season end.