Recruiting Update: Wilfried Likayi (2017 Parkrose HS/Casper College)
You may remember Wilfried Likayi. After all, at a lanky 6-foot-10 he may have been hard to miss at Parkrose High School a couple of years ago. He quietly went the junior college route and played this past season at Casper College in Wyoming, but now after a breakout performance at a summer camp Likayi is starting to collect Division I scholarship offers and may be one of the top JUCO players in the country.
As a senior at Parkrose in 2017, Likayi was solid but was largely overshadowed by teammates Isaac Bonton (Montana State) and Isaac Mbuyamba (Kennesaw State). He went to Casper, grew a couple of inches, and had a solid freshman campaign this past season, averaging 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. But it wasn’t until this summer that things really started to take off as he attended the JUCOAdvocate 32 camp in July.
“I stayed at Casper taking summer classes and then went to the (JA32 camp),” Likayi said. “I felt like I shot the ball pretty well and rebounded pretty well too, and I got a few offers.”
While the sheer number of scholarship offers may be relatively small so far, they are rock solid. Bryant University started things off and since then, Likayi has been offered by UC Santa Barbara, South Florida, Texas Tech, and most recently Oklahoma. Two early favorites have emerged.
“I really like Texas Tech and Oklahoma,” Likayi said. “I like their style of play as it fits me and they have great coaches too.”
Likayi remains humble about the process and open – he hasn’t scheduled any official visits yet and isn’t even sure if he will sign in the fall. He’s back home in Portland for a short spell and then he will head back to Casper for his sophomore campaign. “I’ve picked up a decent handle and I’ve tried to attack the basket and really use my length,” Likayi said. “This year I’m hoping to come in and play and bond with my teammates really well.”