UConn men’s basketball announced Monday that the program will retire Emeka Okafor’s No. 50 at halftime of the Huskies’ Feb. 18 matchup against Creighton. Okafor, an inaugural member of the Huskies of Honor
when it first began in 2007, will join Ray Allen (No. 34) and Richard Hamilton (No. 32) as the only retired numbers on the men’s side. Sue Bird (No. 10), Swin Cash (No. 32) and Rebecca Lobo (No. 50) are retired on the women’s side.
Okafor is the Huskies’ all-time leader in blocked shots, swatting 441 attempts in just three seasons. He led UConn to its second national title in 2004, and is the only National Player of Year award winner in program history. The 6-foot-10 Okafor was a two-time All-American, earning consensus First Team honors in the 2003-04 season.
He was also a two-time National Defensive Player of the Year (2002-03, 2003-04) and set single season records at UConn for blocked shots, blocks per game and double-doubles. He is also just one of two Huskies to amass over 1,000 total rebounds in the last 50 years and is universally regarded as the best center in program history.
The Bellaire, Texas native helped the Huskies to five Big East titles during his time in Storrs, winning three regular season Big East titles from 2002-04 and Big East Tournament titles in 2002 and 2004. He was a two-time First Team All Conference Selection, two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and the 2004 Big East Player of the Year.
In his final season with UConn in 2003-04, Okafor was arguably the most important player on the 2004 national championship team. Despite dealing with back spasms, Okafor averaged 17.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game to help lead the Huskies to the national title. Okafor was named the 2004 Final Four Most Outstanding Player after scoring 18 points — including two key free throws — against Duke in the Final Four and a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double against Georgia Tech in the national title game.
Following his time at UConn, Okafor was selected No. 2 overall by Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 NBA Draft and would win the 2005 Rookie of the Year award. Okafor would go on to play 10 NBA seasons in a career spanning from 2004-2018, and now currently works as an college basketball analyst for CBS Sports.
Okafor was the last player to wear No. 50 at UConn, but prior to coming to Storrs, it was worn by seven others since 1981, including Steve Emt. Now, it will hang in the Gampel Pavilion rafters and be memorialized eternally.
