Duke has bolstered its ranks by signing 6’11” Ifeanyi Ufochukwu. Ufochukwu has spent the last three seasons at Rice, and the 240-pound Nigerian native has now committed to Duke. He redshirted this past season and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Ifeanyi Ufochukwu Set to Add Needed Size to Duke’s Roster
Ufochukwu appeared in 25 games over two seasons for Rice. The 6’11”, 240-pound center played an average of 3.5 minutes per game and scored 50 points. He also recorded 29 rebounds and seven blocks.
Duke has signed 6-11, 240-pound Rice transfer Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, source told @TheFieldOf68.
The native of Nigeria redshirted last season, and averaged 1.8 points in 3.3 minutes per game two seasons ago.
He played high school ball at Covenant Day in North Carolina.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 7, 2025
Duke will especially be delighted with his signing following the departures of Spencer Hubbard and Neal Begovich, who are both out of eligibility. The team also lost Stanley Borden to the transfer portal.
The center’s transfer marks the second consecutive year in which Duke has signed a player from Rice via the transfer portal. Ufochukwu will most likely be in line for the same type of practice-team arrangement that was held by Cameron Sheffield last season.
Sheffield featured in 13 games for Duke last season, but they were all exclusively in blowout wins. However, he played in 87 games across his first three seasons at Rice. Ufochukwu will be hoping to have the same impact for the team.
Nigerian-born Ufochukwu is the second transfer portal commitment of this cycle for Duke after Cedric Coward joined the team from Washington State. The center played high school basketball at Covenant Day School in Matthews, North Carolina.
He averaged 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game for the team and connected on 63.4% of his field goal attempts.
How Ufochukwu Will Fit In at Duke
Ufochukwu, a native of Benin City, Nigeria, has committed to Duke and will make the leap from Rice after spending the last three seasons with the Owls.
The junior, who redshirted this past season, recorded averages of 1.8 points and 0.6 rebounds per game in 3.3 minutes per game (16 games) with Rice during the 2023–24 season.
Duke will hope that Ufochukwu can provide the Blue Devils with some frontcourt depth this coming season after a limited but promising stint with Rice.
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Ufochukwu will also be eager to get his career on track and play a key role for the team in the new season as he seeks to announce himself on a bigger stage.
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