HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's basketball head coach Darrin Horn has announced the addition of Marquette transfer Keeyan Itejere to the squad for the 2023-24 season, made official on Tuesday.
 
A native of Knightdale, N.C., Itejere joins the Norse by way of Marquette where he was part of a Golden Eagles squad that won the Big East Conference Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past season.
 
The 6' 9" forward was one of the most athletically gifted student-athletes in the Big East and around the nation, as he held the Marquette program record for standing vertical leap at 36.5 inches.
 
"Keeyan is a great addition to our program," Horn said. "He is an elite athlete and a major presence at the rim with tremendous size and upside. He joins NKU with a winning pedigree and has been well coached by one of the best coaches in college basketball. Keeyan has a mature approach, strong work ethic and was raised to be a high character young man. We are thrilled to welcome Keeyan to NKU."
 
Itejere makes his way to Highland Heights following two years in the Golden Eagles program. He redshirted the 2021-22 season and appeared in 13 games in 2022-23. This past year, he made all five of his shot attempts, all dunks, and posted seven rebounds and one block in 31 minutes of action.
 
Prior to Marquette, Itejere was ranked as a three-star prospect by both Rivals (23^rd center overall) and the 247 Sports Composite system (202^nd ranked student-athlete overall). The GRACE Christian School product was also given a four-star diction by ESPN.
 
At GRACE, Itejere racked up averages of 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and 2.0 assists per game in his final campaign with the program. He was an All-Eastern Plains Independent Conference selection his senior year and was a member of multiple conference championship squads with the Eagles. He guided GRACE to the 3A NCISAA quarterfinals on two separate occasions.
 
Itejere is a freak of a student-athlete when it comes to his athleticism, extremely special for an athlete who didn't start playing competitive basketball until his freshman year of high school. He has also added 25 pounds of mass since his redshirt freshman year at Marquette.
 
Ready for a big opportunity, Itejere is already one of the top student-athletes at the forward position for the Norse. He will enter NKU with three years of eligibility remaining.
 
 
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