According to reports on Friday from numerous sources, 17-year-old senior-to-be basketball player Nnamdi Okongwu of Chino Hills has died due to a traumatic brain injury he suffered earlier this week in a skateboarding accident.
Okongwu, a 6-foot-9 center ranked the state’s No. 29 prospect in the Class of 2015, was a key member of the 2013-14 team at Chino Hills that played in the first-ever CIF Southern Section Open Division championship game and lost to national powerhouse Mater Dei of Santa Ana. The Huskies (29-6) ended up at No. 6 in the final state rankings.
With Okongwu, who played travel basketball with San Diego-based Gamepoint and has a younger brother Onyeka who is a talented player, expected to come back for the coming season along with State Sophomore Player of the Year Lonzo Ball and all-state freshman LiAngelo Ball, Chino Hills already was being pegged as among the state’s top teams.
Reports about Okongwu having died on Tuesday as a result of the accident were not true, but he was declared brain dead. According to a report from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, family members decided to take Okongwu off of life support on Friday morning.
For more info, CLICK HERE for the story from the Daily Bulletin.
Cal-Hi Sports would like to offer condolences and best wishes to the Chino Hills High School community in this difficult time.
