Clock ticking for Kenyan basketball sensation to decide on joining Women's NBA

The clock is ticking for Kenya’s Madina Okot, as she carves the next path in her budding basketball career.

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Okot, 21, on Sunday, 5 April, played what could potentially prove to be her last game in college, as her South Carolina Gamecocks lost 79-51 to UCLA Bruins in the NCAA women's basketball title game at Mortgage Matchup Centre, Phoenix.

The 6'6 centre, playing in the biggest stage of college basketball in the United States, finished with six points on 3-for-9 shooting, and posted a season-low total in rebounds (three).

In what was a domination by UCLA’s core of seniors, Okot, who admitted to the opposition defense being “way more physical”, played just 13 minutes, and saw only three minutes of action in the second half.

The defeat, referred to as a “smacking” by Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley, was a bitter end to another breakthrough season for Okot, who, on top of becoming the first-ever Kenyan to appear in the NCAA Tournament championship final, averaged phenomenal figures of 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, along with 22 double-doubles.

The latter ranked as the fifth-most in a single season in South Carolina’s program history.

For a player who only took up the sport in 2020, her performances have been nothing short of breathtaking, but questions about what her future holds, await.

Madina Okot makes history as the first Kenyan-born woman to reach the NCAA final four

Over the next 24 hours, Okot is expected to make a decision on whether she wants to take her talents to the WNBA (the premier professional women's basketball league in the United States) or will serve an extra year in college.

As NCAA Tournament rules dictate, draft-eligible players who are in the NCAA Tournament and could return to college have 48 hours to declare for the draft after being eliminated.

As of the time of publishing this story, no declaration had been made by Okot in the aftermath of the UCLA defeat, raising the prospect that the decision is still up in the air.

A big part of that is due to a pending petition by South Carolina to the NCAA to get Okot at least one more year of eligibility in college.

South Carolina, in their waiver process, which Staley made public in November, argue that Okot’s years spent playing college basketball outside the US should not count toward NCAA eligibility, given that this is only her second year competing in the United States.

Okot played her first two years of college ball at Zetech University in Kenya, before making her move to the US last season, where she played her junior year at Mississippi State.

Madina Okot's coach advises against immediate move to Women's NBA

Asked how the process to get Okot eligible for a fifth year in college was progressing, Staley told The State on Saturday, 4 April: “I’m hoping to hear back shortly. I think our compliance is doing a great job. It’s just keeping the lines of communication open.

The NCAA always asks for more and more information, more and more information. Madina is complying with getting the information. Hopefully they’ll have an answer soon.”

As per reports in the United States, getting a waiver approved by the NCAA can be an arduous process, with a recent case involving former South Carolina running back Rahsul Faison’s extra year going on for nine months.

Should Okot fail to get confirmation in time, then her next step will be to declare for Wednesday, 13 April’s WNBA Draft.

Okot, registered as a senior for South Carolina, has been projected to go in the first round of the draft, with the latest mock by Bleacher Report, placing her as the Number 12 pick, heading to the Connecticut Sun.

ESPN’s mock draft, on the other hand, has her as the Number 10 pick, heading to the Indiana Fever.

Madina’s clock is ticking.