The Practice Players Podcast

Felix Okpara is currently the starting center for the University of Tennessee Men's Basketball team. Prior to Tennessee, Felix spent 2 years playing for The Ohio State Buckeyes, where he built a reputation as one of the nations premier shot blockers. Prior to Ohio State Felix attended Link Academy and Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, and was a consensus 4 star recruit in the 2022 class. A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Felix spent his early years playing soccer before moving to The United States to pursue basketball. 

Career Timeline:

1987-89 Mt. San Antonio CC (Player)

1989-91 UNLV (Player)

As a Coach:

1991-92 UNLV (GA)

1993-94 Chaffey CC (assistant)

1994-2004 UNLV (assistant)

2004-05 Utah State (assistant)

2005-11 BYU (associate HC)

2011-16 UNLV (Head Coach)

2016-17 Nevada (assistant)

2017-2021 Washington (assistant)

2023-24 Cal Baptist (assistant)

2024-Present Salt Lake City Community College (Head Coach)

Career Timeline:

2019 High School:

Team Captain & 4.1 GPA

Recruited to NCAA D2 Regis University. Two year letter-winner, 2021 RMAC All-Academic, 4x Dean’s List

Transferred to Oregon as preferred walk-on in 2021:

Played in 12 games Senior season, season high 10 minutes vs National Champion UConn.

Oregon Student Athlete Advisory Committee, 3x Dean’s List, 2023 Dean’s Award for Service Recipient, 2023 PAC-12 Male Representative at Student Athlete Leadership Forum in Baltimore. Graduated Cum Laude in Business Administration concentrating in Sports Business with 3.8 GPA

June 2024: hired as UNLV Graduate Assistant

July 2024: On staff for USA Basketball Men’s Olympic team training camp

In this episode, Chintoo recaps the NBA offseason with The Practice Players. Topics covered include NBA Draft winners, offseason trades, free agency moves, the Olympics, way too early 2024-25 predictions, and much more!

Career Timeline:

2003-06: Arizona State (Player)

2006-07: UNLV (Player)

2007: NBA Draft (undrafted)

2007-2013: Playing career with 7+ teams across the globe

2014-16: Northern Arizona (Assistant Coach)

2016-19: Oklahoma (Assistant Coach)

2019-21: UNLV (Assistant Coach)

2021-Present: UNLV (Head Coach)

Career Timeline:

Freshman Season (2023-24):

• Averaged 13.6 points (led team), 5.1 assists (led team), and 2.7 rebounds per game.
• Shot 44.9% from the field and 36.2% from three
• Named Mountain West co-Freshman of the Year as well as Second Team All-Mountain West honors

High School:

• Number 34 prospect in his class, number 8 point guard, and number 1 player in Nevada according to 247 Sports
• Led Liberty High School (Henderson, NV) to a class 5A state title in 2022, dethroning powerhouse Bishop Gorman
• Father Dedan Thomas Sr. was a standout player at UNLV from 1991-94

2023-24 (Oregon):

Averaged 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, starting in 22 of 36 games played. 

Helped lead Oregon to a Pac-12 Tournament Championship and the 2nd round of March Madness. 

2022-23 (Florida SouthWestern):

Played in 29 of 31 games, averaging 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. 

Named an Honorable Mention NJCAA All-American

2021-22:

Played two games for St. Joseph's before transferring to Florida SouthWestern

2020-21 (St. Joseph's):

Played in 20 games, averaging 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game

In this episode, Drew shares some of his favorite moments being a manager with The Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball team. Drew is a symbol of what positivity and hard work truly is, sharing his story of battling leukemia all while being a college student and working as a student manager. His powerful journey is a must hear lesson on perseverance for all. 

Drew Evenson is the head student manager for the Minnesota Men’s Basketball team. Drew is currently in his second year with the Golden Gophers and is responsible for a variety of day-to-day duties. In 2020 Drew underwent treatment for leukemia and completed his treatment on February 2nd 2024.

Ben Asher is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Youngstown State men's basketball program.

He helped lead the Penguins to a regular-season conference championship after guiding the Penguins to an overall record of 24-10 and a 15-5 league mark en route to the Horizon League Championship.

The 24 wins tied the program record for most wins in a season and the 15 Horizon League victories also set the record for most conference wins.

For the second straight season, Asher was named on the Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in Division I Basketball by Silver Waves Media.

He helped the Penguins to 19 wins in 2021-22, which were also the most since 2000-01 and set a school record for most wins as members of the Horizon League. The Penguins also set a school record for most conference wins with 12.

In 2021-22, Youngstown State also tied the Division I record for most home wins with 13 and secured the program’s second postseason berth in three years with an appearance in the inaugural The Basketball Classic. The Penguins also won its second postseason game with a 70-65 victory over Morgan State.

Asher was also named one of the Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches in Division I Basketball by Silver Waves Media.

Asher spent the last five seasons at Rutgers, most recently serving as the Director of Basketball Operations and Recruiting for two years. He also served three seasons as Special Assistant to the Head Coach with the Scarlet Knights. 

With Asher on staff, the Scarlet Knights program has achieved new heights and, in 2020-21, qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years. 

Among Asher’s many responsibilities were serving as liaison to the athletic department at large, including the areas of communications, RVision, marketing, creative, business operations and facilities management.

He played an integral role in the program’s social media outreach and recruiting initiatives. The Scarlet Knights welcomed a four-recruit signing class in 2018 that included multiple four-star players for the first time at Rutgers since 2008. RU has signed four-star recruits from New Jersey in three consecutive classes, with Ron Harper, Jr. (2018), Paul Mulcahy (2019) and Cliff Omoruyi (2020) all electing to stay home.

Asher was instrumental in supervising the program’s student managers, facilitating team travel, and the development and execution of team camps. During his tenure “On the Banks,” he has aided in the resurgence of the program by helping to cultivate an environment based upon relationships and results.

In 2020, Asher was named to the NABC 30-Under-30 Team. 

As Special Assistant to the Head Coach, Asher provided executive level support to Steve Pikiell, while assisting in the overall management of administrative duties and daily functions of the men's basketball office.

Prior to Rutgers, Asher spent a season serving as Director of Operations at Siena under Jimmy Patsos. The Saints posted a 21-13 overall record and competed in the CBI postseason tournament.  He was instrumental in the day-to-day activities of the team, including travel, practices, meals, facility use, team camps and recruiting.

An Oyster Bay, N.Y. native, Asher spent two seasons (2013-15) in the ACC as a graduate assistant at N.C. State under Mark Gottfried. The Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2015, after reaching the ACC quarterfinal and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2014.

Prior to arriving in Raleigh, Asher worked as the head student manager at West Virginia, where he earned a Regents Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. Under head coach Bob Huggins, the Mountaineers won the Big East Tournament Championship and advanced to the Final Four in 2010, while also earning NCAA berths in 2011 and 2012.

(Pulled from Youngstown State's Website)

Wearing 3 different numbers in high school? Never taking a single campus visit to Ohio State? Announcing his commitment because of a dare with a friend? All-American candidate Bruce Thornton shares some wild stories from his recruitment process, and breaks down what has lead to an immensely successful start to his sophomore campaign.

Sophomore Season (2023-24):

•Averaging 16.9 points, 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.8 turnovers per game.

•Shooting 37.7% from 3 on over 5 attempts per game

•Led Ohio State to The Emerald Coast Classic Title while being named tournament MVP

(Stats and accolades as of 12/32/23)

Freshman Season (2022-23):

•Started all 35 games as a freshman at Ohio State, averaging 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.

•Named to the 2023 B1G All-Tournament Team

High School:

•Consensus four-star recruit and Gatorade Player of the Year out of the state of Georgia.