The first official night is Monday, Nov. 2, against Wofford at Reynolds Coliseum. Favour Ossai is the closer in this class: a 6-2 freshman forward who took the long way to Raleigh.

She is from Delta State, Nigeria. She spent the last three years at Fukushima Toryo High School in Japan. She has played basketball for six years, and she still put up numbers that jump off the page.

This is the sixth and last piece in New Blood. The transfers and the American freshmen came first. Ossai is the international add, and the one who gives the Pack another big on the interior.

Snapshot

• No. 77, forward, 6-2
• Freshman, Delta State, Nigeria / Fukushima Toryo (Japan)
• Last stop: high school in Japan
• Defining number: about 27 points and 12 rebounds a night, 25.3 and 20.6 at Japan’s Winter Cup
• How she got here: Recruit
• First official stage: Wofford, Nov. 2, Reynolds
• Tag: International freshman

How she got here

Ossai played for Nigeria’s U16 team, then moved to Japan. At Fukushima Toryo she was the leading scorer at nearly 27 points and 12 rebounds a game. In the Winter Cup, Japan’s high school championship, she averaged 25.3 points and 20.6 rebounds and ranked among the country’s top 10 scorers. She had 35 points and 24 rebounds against Saibi in the program’s first Winter Cup win, then 26 and 25 against Saitama Sakae. She scored 38 against Yuzawa Shohuku in 2025. She also played in the 2022 International School Sports Federation Championship.

She committed in March and officially joined the roster in August. She is Moore’s 10th international player at NC State.

“We’re excited to have Favour join the Pack,” Moore said. “She will provide us with some size and depth on the interior. It will take her some time to catch up after missing summer workouts, but she’s focused and ready to go.”

What she does

Ossai is a paint player. She scores, she rebounds, and she goes and gets the ball. The Winter Cup line is the clearest picture of that: a double-double every night against the best high school teams in Japan.

The skill that should show up first in Raleigh is the glass. Pierre, Leye, and Trivette already give Moore options up front. Ossai adds another 6-2 forward who can crash and finish.

The job against Wofford

The frontcourt is deep. Pierre is the star. Leye started 32 SEC games. Trivette is a four-star freshman. Ossai’s job is to give that group another body and to take the next available post minutes when Moore calls her number.

Wofford is the first official night. Campbell is two days later. Kentucky in Charlotte is Nov. 8. For Ossai, the opener is the first chance to show the work she has put in since August.

Best-case Wofford night:

• she checks in
• she gets on the glass
• she finishes a play around the rim

The question mark

She missed summer workouts, and Moore said it will take time. That is the honest part of the arrival. The rest of the question is how fast the rebounding travels. If it does, she becomes useful sooner than the calendar suggests.

The other question is fit. Is she a four next to Pierre, or a five when Pierre sits? Either way, the Pack asked her here for size and depth. That is the job.

Who she pairs with

• Pierre: the post she will learn from every day.
• Leye: the transfer forward who already knows this level.
• Trivette: the other freshman forward in the same class.
• Cox: the spacer if Moore plays two bigs.

What to watch on Nov. 2

For Ossai vs. Wofford, track four things:

1. Does she get in the game?
2. Rebounds
3. Touches around the basket
4. How she responds the first time she checks in

That is the last New Blood test. Six newcomers. One opener. Wofford is when the series leaves the page and goes on the floor.