Stanford high-scoring freshman Okorie just getting warmed up

Virginia Tech had built a 31-24 halftime lead at home against Stanford two weeks ago when coach Mike Young offered a reminder to his players about Cardinal freshman Ebuka Okorie.

“Don’t underestimate this kid,” he said. “He’s that good.”

Actually, Okorie has been better than almost anyone envisioned.

Okorie had just five first-half points at Virginia Tech, but over the final 20 minutes, the 6-foot-2 guard scored 26 more on 9-for-12 shooting. He added five assists and, over the final 2:09 scored 11 points.