Dominic Okon is in his eighth season as Director of Men’s Basketball Operations at Wichita State, coming to Wichita shortly after Coach Marshall.
In 2013-14, Wichita State won an NCAA-record 35-straight games before losing to eventual National Runner-up Kentucky in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The Shockers' 35-1 record also shattered all of WSU's and the MVC's winning streak records, including Indiana State's 33-game record in 1977.
The Shockers won their second Valley regular-season title (18-0) in three seasons and won the MVC Tournament in St. Louis for the first time since the tournament went to a neutral site. The tournament title was the first for WSU since winning it in 1987 on Tulsa's home floor.
The Shockers were ranked in the Top 25 all season, also a first for WSU, and reached the No. 2 spot for the first time since the 1981-82 season. The Shockers' No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament was also a first.
Okon was also instrumental during the 2012-13 season when a Final Four appearance by the Shockers topped a six-year reconstruction at Wichita State under Head Coach Gregg Marshall. En route, WSU defeated Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, La Salle, and Ohio State before losing to eventual National Champion Louisville in the National Semifinal game in Atlanta. The voters in the USA Today Coaches poll rewarded the Shockers with a final No. 4 ranking, their highest final ranking ever.
The reconstruction brought WSU from 11 wins Okon's first season to a then-school-record 30 wins in 2013 that ended with the Final Four trip, the second for the Shockers, but the first in 48 years.
Okon also assisted the Shockers to the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Portland, Ore., where WSU lost to VCU in the Second/Third Round game.
The 2009-10 team also played in the postseason NIT, received votes in the AP poll and advanced to the MVC Tournament title game, while the 2009-10 team played in the CBI.
Okon came to WSU after one year at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., where he was an assistant coach after spending eight years as assistant men’s basketball coach at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Okon helped the Raiders to an impressive 197-62 record over eight seasons, while aiding Three Rivers in claiming two regional titles and a trip the national tournament.
During his tenure, Okon assisted in the development of four All-Americans, while more than 30 players under his tutelage moved on to four-year schools.
While at Three Rivers, Okon was responsible for on-court coaching, recruiting, scouting, and player development. In addition, he was in charge of athletic administration which included athletic insurance, athletic eligibility, study hall monitor and housing supervision.
Okon was a four-year collegiate basketball player, including two seasons at Three Rivers and two seasons at Loyola University of Chicago, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
While at Three Rivers, Okon earned all-conference and all-region honors and led the team to a 59-12 record, two region titles and a fifth-place finish at the national tournament.
After college, Okon represented the Nigerian National Team in various international basketball tournaments, helping his team to the Nations Cup in Africa in 1997, which qualified Nigeria to the World Cup in Athens, Greece, in 1998.
In 2012, he helped coach the Nigerian National Team in Venezuela that qualified for the London Olympics, the first appearance ever.
A native of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, he and his wife Monica, have two sons, Jaden and Jordan.
