Hopefully, NC State’s newest international piece is almost here. Fingers crossed.
Favour Ossai Chinoye is the kind of recruit that makes you do a double-take. Nigerian kid, developed her game in Japan at Fukushima Toryo High School, and now she’s about to become a Wolfpack freshman. At around 6-1 or 6-2, she plays forward, rebounds like she means it, has real athleticism, and can put the ball in the basket. She dropped 38 points in a game over there last season, so the scoring touch is real.
Abdoulie Jatta, who covers Senegal women’s Afrobasket and African women’s basketball for Rab Sports, put it pretty well when we messaged:
“I know a little about her. Favour is Nigerian and has been developing in Japan, where she attended Fukushima Toryo High School. She’s around 6’1/6’2 and plays as a forward. From what I’ve seen, she’s a good rebounder, athletic and can score too. She actually had a 38-point game in Japan, so there’s definitely some talent there.
What I find interesting is that she’s taken a very different route from the usual Nigerian players. She developed in Japan and has now earned a spot at NC State. I don’t know much about her early years in Nigeria or how exactly she ended up in Japan, so I wouldn’t want to give you anything inaccurate. But her development journey from Nigeria to Japan and now an ACC program is definitely worth looking at.”
Jatta even offered a comparison that will catch Wolfpack fans’ attention:
“If I had to compare her to someone, I’d probably say Khamil Pierre, at least in terms of the profile. Favour is a strong, physical forward, good on the boards, athletic and can score around the basket. She’s also developing her perimeter game. Obviously she’s still very raw compared to Pierre, but I can see some similarities in the way they play.”
From the limited film I’ve watched, I think she compares to UConn’s Sarah Strong in a lot of ways. Big physical four who can step out and hit a three while not shy about banging inside. We will see how this all translates to power four competition.
That Japan-to-ACC jump is the story. Most Nigerian prospects take different roads: domestic leagues, U.S. prep schools, Europe. Favour went the Japanese high-school route, competed hard (including some big Winter Cup numbers like 35-and-24 and 26-and-25), and somehow ended up on Wes Moore’s radar.
She committed back in late March and joins a solid 2026 class with four-stars Kamora Pruitt and Annsley Trivette. Moore’s staff has brought in internationals before, so this isn’t totally new territory for them.
Right now the focus is simply getting her to Raleigh. Visas take time, and things are a little more involved these days. Moore checked in on the process recently:
“Favore… I’m not sure if it’s Favor or Favore. Favor sounds pretty fun though. Yeah, it’s just been a matter of trying to get her here. For visas and all those things it’s a little bit more involved. Takes a little bit longer than maybe it used to. But she does have an appointment for her visa scheduled in early August. So the plans are hopefully we get her here in time to start school in August. She’s missed a few weeks obviously, but hopefully that goes well. She’s got a great personality and all those things. I think she’ll adapt real well once she gets here. We’re just trying to get all the paperwork done, get through the process, and get her over here.”
NC State is looking forward to getting her on campus hopefully soon before classes start next week. She’s already a little behind on the calendar, but once the paperwork clears and she lands, the expectation is she’ll settle in quickly. Great personality, athletic forward with rebounding and scoring chops, and a development path nobody else on the roster has. That’s a fun addition.
Wolfpack fans will be watching for those first practice reports once she finally makes it over. The journey from Nigeria to Japan to Reynolds Coliseum is already pretty cool. Now it’s just about getting her im Reynolds so the next chapter can start.
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