By nature, Chuma Okeke is quite chill. The 6-foot-7 junior forward from Atlanta (GA) Westlake is a relatively low-key teenager that just happens to be pretty darn good at basketball.

Unlike most high school teams, Westlake didn’t play in a holiday tournament before or after Christmas. The Lions laid low for 23 days. Okeke got in the gym, no doubt, but saw the down time as a chance to prepare.

“I tried to just stay off of my feet. I knew we have big region games so I just tried to relax,” he said.

In his first game back from the break, Okeke scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a big region win over Douglas County, featuring UNC bound guard Brandon Robinson.  

On the court, he doesn’t get too high or too low. But don’t let the even-keeled spirit deter you. Okeke is aggressive where he needs to be.

“I try to get in there and rebound as much as I can. I can’t leave Mike (Durr, a 6-foot-9 center) and Ronald (Bell, an athletic 6-foot-5 forward) all alone,” Okeke said. “I really just try to do a little bit of everything.”

Okeke is one of the most dynamic players in metro Atlanta and his skill set helps glue the abundance of talent together on a talented Westlake team.

Coaches from Xavier and Virginia will be in to see Okeke and Westlake in action on Friday night. He’ll square off against his former teammates at Langston Hughes.

Okeke laid low in the fall, making only one visit. He took a trip out to Athens and saw the Georgia Bulldogs play on the gridiron and hung out with the basketball team.

“It was fun,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”

Auburn, Cincinnati, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas, LSU, Memphis SMU, UAB and Wake Forest have all shown various amounts of interest, according to his coaches.

But recruiting, Okeke says, is not in his mind right now. Like everything else, he will be quite relaxed throughout the process.