Final Four Athlete

I am not into basketball at all, let alone college. It has always been a disinterest to me, and I don't watch any of the March Madness tournament. As a big sports fan though, I am very in sync with upcoming stars in each of the four major sports. This led to me choosing to do my blog on the likely 1st overall pick in June, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor came into this season with a lot of fanfare and was the consensus first overall pick, and he did nothing but improve his status since then. He won a national championship last week with Duke. You would think that with this much recognition as a freshman he would be very interested in endorsement deals and such.

Being such a young star brings a lot of criticism, not only to his game on the court but his brand off the court. Many young players with a lot of fanfare cannot handle this well and are immature, but Okafor is an exception. The young man is very family oriented and this is the main sticking point to his brand. If you follow him on twitter and instagram a common theme with him is the importance of family. His whole brand is to try to come off as a respectable young man who understands how vital family is. He is not one to boast or brag about his amazing performances on the court. This kid dominated the NCAA and his stats blow away the rest of the competition. It is hard to keep a level head at that point, but Okafor understands how crucial it is to his game on the court to stay level headed. It is all part of his brand, and it makes the public have an affection for him.

The young man's play on the court is very similar. He is complete opposite of a selfish player is the definition of a team player. Okafor hardly ever even handles the ball outside the paint, which shows how he is a team player. He opens up so much room for his teammates. It is kind of ironic how little he touches the ball yet he puts up excellent numbers, he has a huge impact on the game by just being there. He doesn't have the same impact in his own end though, he is known as a liability in his own zone. He is obviously monstrous, standing at 6'10" 270 pounds. He is far from a Charles Barkley type player though. Okafor could be looked at as "soft" for a big man, comparable to Dwight Howard.

If I was Okafor's brand manager, the first brand I would target is simple: Nike. They pay the most money to endorsers, and that is the be all end all for athletes. I think that his persona would fit well with that brand. Nike is known for being a brand that employs high class athletes and ones that avoid controversy. My second brand would be Red Bull. Red Bull is my favorite drink and I think that they do a great job in the sport industry. They have a lot of extreme sport endorsements and they love to give fans an in depth look at their athletes. These mostly include GoPro views, which really show what the athletes are looking at while performing their respective sports.