TORONTO — When forward Emmanuel Okorafor joined the Louisville men's basketball team halfway through last season, his appearance was so brief, the 6-foot-9 Nigerian remains a largely unknown commodity.

That’s all going to change this season.

Kentucky’s Adou Thiero found out just how quickly in the Wildcats’ 104-92 win over Basketball Africa League Select on Saturday in the GLOBL JAM tournament. Thiero drove baseline and rose up for a two-handed dunk when Okorafor came from the weakside and met him at the rim.

Surprise! He blocked the shot.

Or maybe the better way to frame it: Surprised he blocked the shot?

It’s okay if you are, but Okorafor is not. He has a quiet confidence based on his preparation and a fearlessness rooted in how hard he works.

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“I wasn’t ranked, I wasn’t noticed,” Okorafor said. “All I knew was in NBA Africa, we work hard. So we don’t care about rankings. We just work hard.”

Okorafor finished with 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field and added five rebounds against the Cats.

He’s still relatively new to college basketball and while he wasn't on the team yet when the Cats and Cards met last season, Okorafor is already well-versed in the rivalry.

Upon signing with the Cardinals, former U of L standout and current Indiana Pacers forward Jordan Nwora, who also plays for the Nigerian National Team, reached out to him. Nwora offered words of encouragement and also tried to explain what it’s like to play for Louisville.

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Okorafor understood the assignment.

“I kind of took it personal for the fans," he said of Saturday's matchup, "because they really wanted, like, Africa to beat UK."

Okorafor didn’t arrive in Toronto until Wednesday night due to visa complications entering Canada. He missed his team's first game and didn’t know any of the plays in their loss to Germany. After getting one practice with the team on Friday, he was able to have a big showing against UK.

Okorafor’s getting better at being thrown in situations and adapting. He joined U of L virtually out of the blue in January, playing in only five games before missing the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.

Like many players who come from overseas to play college basketball, it’s difficult to gauge realistic expectations because they haven’t played here. Okorafor was no different, especially given the move to bring him in mid-semester of a 4-28 season.

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U of L coach Kenny Payne and assistant coach Nolan Smith clearly saw something after watching Okorafor live last December when a team from NBA Academy Africa played in the NBA G League’s Winter Showcase.

He’s still raw, especially offensively, but Okorafor is poised to break out in his first full season with the Cardinals.

He provided a glimpse of how good he could be defensively, blocking four shots against Pitt last season. He was the first freshman for U of L to achieve the feat since Chinanu Onuaku against Savanah State in November 2014.

That was a highlight, but in a season as dismal as last, it didn’t exactly make Okorafor stick out. This coming season, he should be one of the Cards’ reasons for optimism.

“People don’t know me a lot because I came in middle of the season and I’m lucky I played just five games before I hurt my ankle,” Okorafor said. “I feel like as the season goes on, I’m going to get noticed and the people of Louisville will get to know me.”

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Okorafor will have an opportunity for playing time early. He and junior Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, a former Tennessee transfer, are the only returning players in the front court. They’ll be competing for playing time along with 7-foot-1 freshman center Dennis Evans.

Regardless of where Okorafor ultimately ends up in the rotation, he'll no longer be viewed as an unknown commodity.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on Twitter at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball's Emmanuel Okorafor shines in loss to Kentucky