Mike O'Koren

Mike O'Koren

No. 31, 25
Small forward
Personal information
Date of birth	February 7, 1958 (1958-02-07) (age 53)
Place of birth	Jersey City, New Jersey
Nationality	American
High school	Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1976–1980)
NBA Draft	1980 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the New Jersey Nets
Pro career	1980–1988
Career history
1980–1986	New Jersey Nets
1986–1987	Washington Bullets
1987–1988	New Jersey Nets
Career highlights and awards
2× Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1979–1980)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,355 (8.2 ppg)
Rebounds	1,391 (3.4 rpg)
Assists	856 (2.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Competitor for  United States Men's basketball Pan American Games Gold 1979 San Juan Team competition

Mike O'Koren (born February 7, 1958, in Jersey City, New Jersey) is a retired American professional basketball player, a former associate head coach of the Washington Wizards from 2005 to 2008, and a former assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets from 1999 to 2003. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 1980 NBA Draft. A 6'7" small forward from the University of North Carolina, O'Koren played in 8 NBA seasons from 1980 to 1988. He played for the Nets and Washington Bullets. O'Koren went to Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, New Jersey.

In his NBA career, O'Koren played in 407 games and scored a total of 3,355 points. His best year as a professional came during the 1981–82 season as a member of the Nets, appearing in 80 games and averaging 11.4 ppg.

O'Koren honed his basketball skills on the asphalt schoolyards of Jersey City, located on the heights above the Hudson River just a short train ride from New York, and played his high-school ball under the tutelage of coach "Rocky" Pope. At Hudson Catholic, O'Koren was a teammate of Jim Spanarkel's, who went on to play point guard at Duke University and then in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks.

As far as doing everything well and whatever was needed to win while at UNC, he had few equals in Tar Heel history. He's still the only Carolina player with at least 1,500 points (1,765), 800 rebounds (815) and 300 assists (348). He also had 183 steals and a career field goal percentage of 57.2.

On a talent-laden 1977 UNC team as a freshman he averaged 13.9 points per game, scored 21 points against Duke in the ACC championship game and had 31 in the NCAA semi-finals against UNLV. As a sophomore his scoring rose to 17.8. He scored in double figures every game and was second nationally with a 64.3 field goal percentage.

In 1979, Carolina was picked to finish third or lower in all the 1979 ACC pre-season polls. But, Dudley Bradley, the nation's best defensive player, and Al Wood, one of the top shooters in the college game, each improved their play on the opposite ends of the court. With O'Koren already proven as a fine all-around player, the Tar Heels posted a 23-6 record, tied for first place in the league's regular-season race, swept the ACC Tournament and finished third nationally in the final coaches' poll.

O'Koren was at his best in the biggest games. He grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, scored 17 points, handed out seven assists and had four steals in a 74-68 homecourt win over Duke. He also held Gene Banks scoreless in the second half of that game. He finished with 22 points and five assists in a double overtime win over Virginia. In the ACC Tournament finals against Duke he had 18 points and 11 rebounds. He scored Carolina's final 10 points that day in a 71-63 victory.

External links

• Basketballreference.com page

Persondata
Name	Okoren, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 7, 1958
Place of birth	Jersey City, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death