WORCESTER—Joe Okla is back home in Worcester.
Back to where he and his North High teammates won two consecutive Division I state titles in 2023 and 2024. Back to where he scored more than 1,000 points and helped lead the Polar Bears to an unprecedented 45-game winning streak over two seasons. Back to playing for his former coach, Al Pettway.
After graduating from North and spending the 2024-25 school year as a freshman at UMass Amherst, Okla is back playing basketball as a student-athlete at Worcester State University. He has reunited with Pettway, who is in his second season as head coach of the Lancers. A six-foot-six sophomore forward, Okla spent three memorable seasons with Pettway at North, culminating with a perfect 24-0 record in his senior year.
But Okla’s road back to Worcester was not exactly a straight line. Born and raised in the city, Okla initially wanted to experience a different place when he went to college. After a few smaller schools in the area expressed interest, Okla ultimately decided to attend Division I UMass and pursue a role as a walk-on or practice player within Frank Martin’s program. In order to participate as a non-scholarship player, Okla would have to fight his way onto the team.
“I just decided to go to UMass,” said Okla. “I said, I’ll take a chance on myself.”
But he arrived to Amherst late, having to miss the beginning of the UMass summer workouts to attend his sister’s wedding in Ghana. Okla was a member of the practice squad for the first two weeks, but with a lot of older players on the roster, the coaching staff thought it was best for him to wait another year. Considering his options, Okla soon abandoned the idea of playing for the Minutemen and started looking elsewhere.
During his semester break he took a trip to Division II Molloy University in New York, a school that had previously shown interest. However, Okla wasn’t impressed with the school and wound up finishing the academic year at UMass. He kept working out on his own, playing both recreation basketball on-campus as well as in a few men’s leagues.
“I knew at some point I was going to pick up a basketball again,” said Okla.
Pettway, who keeps in close contact with many of his former players, was watching Okla from a distance, giving him space and a chance to make his own decisions.
“I was talking to Pettway the whole time,” said Okla. “He was asking me how I was doing. During winter break I was here watching their practices all the time.”
Okla came back to Worcester for the summer and by August had made visits to Division III programs Nichols College and UMass Dartmouth. When Pettway learned that Okla was considering Division III schools, he reached back out and set up a meeting at Worcester State.
“When I heard he had gone to Nichols and UMass Dartmouth, I called him,” said Pettway. “I said I need to sit down with you. I told him: Joe, you always know you have a home here. You’re comfortable with me, you know me.”
That was all the reassurance that Okla needed to hear from his former coach, who also happens to be the all-time leading scorer at Worcester State with more than 2,000 points.
“I respect Pettway a lot. He’s like a second father to me,” said Okla. “I trust him. I told him I’d give it a chance.”
Okla enrolled at Worcester State, making the reunion with Pettway official. In the first two months of the semester, he’s been thriving both on and off the court, majoring in communications with an emphasis on multimedia communications.
“So far since I’ve been here it’s actually exceeded my expectations,” acknowledged Okla. “The first week I got here I told my parents it’s better than what I thought it was going to be.”
He quickly made friends and began participating in early morning workouts with a pair of teammates from Brockton, juniors Dajon Burton and Kaelin Dossantos Leal.
“I’ve been with those guys since the first day. We just clicked so well,” said Okla. “When we started practicing, the guys were always together. We always eat in the dining hall together, we’re at study hall together. It’s still like a brotherhood, it’s still a family off the court. On the court we push each other, going back and forth. We’re being competitive like how it should be, how it used to be at North. I can tell Pettway is trying to bring the same thing we had at North here.”
The Lancers went 13-14 overall last season, but finished 9-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Worcester State was edged by three points in the conference semifinals against Salem State. The Lancers were picked to finish tied for third with Bridgewater State in the 2025-26 MASCAC preseason coaches poll. The top returning scorers are senior Ayme Daguilh (11.5 ppg) and sophomore Camdyn Shoesmith (8.0 ppg).
“We have a lot of pieces that we could put together very well and make something out of it,” noted Okla.
According to Pettway, Okla has made an immediate impact and will likely be in the starting lineup this weekend when Worcester State opens the season against nationally-ranked Saint Joseph (Conn) at the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament at UMass Dartmouth on November 8.
“Now the buzz is on him,” said Pettway. “Everybody is happy he’s back. I think he’s going to put people in the seats. I’m pretty excited to have him back.”
In addition to Saint Joseph, the Lancers also play three other teams this season that are ranked in the Division III preseason top 25: defending national champion Trinity (Conn) (1); Wesleyan (13) and WPI (19). Worcester State also takes on Division I Holy Cross at the Hart Center on November 26 in a community-themed game.
Pettway plans to use Okla in a “stretch four” position out of the high post which will allow for both jump shots from the wing as well as the opportunity to roll to the basket. Okla has been impressive early on in practice, earning the coveted team award of Lancer of the Week for last week’s performance. The prize? A custom made Worcester State Lancers championship wrestling belt.
“He has that winning attitude. He knows what winning looks like. He brings energy,” said Pettway. “The kids all love him. People on campus love him. He works hard everyday at practice. I think that’s something that we were lacking last year. That winning mentality from high school has carried over to college.”
As the college basketball season tips off this November, Okla joins an elite group of former North players making their debut at the collegiate level: Amir Jenkins (West Virginia); Teshaun Steele (New Haven), Tahlan Pettway (Western Carolina), Ty Tabales (Bryant) and Khari Bryan (Independence Community College).
To Okla, things are going exactly as they all planned it back in high school.
“I’m proud of all my friends. It’s what we wanted,” said Okla. “We all wanted to finish at North and then go play college basketball, and that’s exactly what we’re all doing right now. Who knows what the future holds.”
Okla is happy to be back in Worcester, especially under the steady guidance of Pettway once again.
“He’s been a big influence in my life since the North days my sophomore year. He always had faith in me,” said Okla.
“He always pulled me to the side and had the little conversations with me. It’s not always about basketball with him, it’s about the bigger things. He’s always making sure I’m doing good in school and outside of school, that I’m always doing the right thing. He wants me to become a good basketball player but he also wants me to become a better person in life.”
Welcome home, Joe.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
