Udoka Azubuike

Udoka Azubuike
No. 35 – Kansas Jayhawks
Position Center
League Big 12 Conference
Personal information
Born (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999
Lagos, Nigeria
Nationality Nigerian
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school Potter's House Christian Academy
(Jacksonville, Florida)
College Kansas (2016–present)
Career highlights and awards

Udoka Timothy Azubuike (born September 17, 1999) is a Nigerian college basketball player at the University of Kansas.

Early life

Azubuike was the youngest of five with two older brothers and two older sisters.[1] His father Fabian was a police officer and his mother Florence was a middle school teacher.[2] Azubuike lost his father to an undiagnosed disease at the age of 10.[2] He caught the attention of recruiters with Basketball Without Borders and was offered a scholarship to play basketball in the United States.[2]

High school career

Azubuike did not start playing organized basketball until his freshman year of high school at the age of 13. Azubuike attended Potter's House Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida. His then assistant Coach Harry Coxsome and his wife Donna took care of him and soon became his legal guardians.[2] In his first high school game he was matched up against fellow future Kansas Jayhawk Joel Embiid.[2] Azubuike was a four-year starter averaging 16.9 points and 9.7 rebounds a game his senior year.[3] Azubuike was selected to play in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Boys Game,[4] Jordan Brand Classic,[5] and Nike Hoop Summit.[6] He also a member of the National Honor Society.[2]

He was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the 27th best overall player[7] while ESPN ranked him 22nd overall in the Class of 2016.[8] Azubuike received offers from many universities including Duke, Texas, Kentucky, and shortened his final list of colleges to Florida State, Kansas, and North Carolina.[9]

College career

On January 28, 2016, he announced his choice to play college basketball at the University of Kansas.[10] In his freshman season he started in six of the 11 games he played in before tearing ligaments in his left wrist ended his season.[11] Before the injury he averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 62.9% field goal percentage.

For the 2017-2018 season, Kansas' coach Bill Self recruited Kansas football player James Sosinski to defend Azubuike during practice.[12] Udoka started every game of the regular season but missed the Big 12 tournament after spraining his left MCL.[13] He returned for the NCAA tournament until KU's loss to eventual champion Villanova in the Final Four.[14] He averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and led the nation with a 77% field goal percentage for the season.[15] His field goal percentage broke the single-season record for Kansas and the Big 12 Conference.[16] This high percentage was in part due to the fact that he had more slam dunks than any other college player going back to the 2009-2010 season.[17] He was awarded All-Big 12 third team by the conference's coaches[18] and second team by the AP.[19]

On April 20, 2018, Azubuike announced his intention to the 2018 NBA Draft. He will not initially hire an agent allowing him to return if he decides before the combine.[20] Azubuike would be one of a record-high 69 prospects invited to the NBA Draft Combine that year. On May 17, he measured out to be a near 7' tall center (with shoes on) weighting in at around 274 pounds and holding the second longest wingspan at 7'7", behind only Mohamed Bamba.[21] On May 30, 2018 he announced his intent to withdraw from the draft and return to Kansas for his junior season.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Kussoy, Howard (March 29, 2018). "Kansas star will get amazing Final Four moment: Seeing Mom". New York Post.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 King, Jason (March 30, 2018). "Think Reaching the Final 4 Is Tough? Then You Haven't Met Kansas' Udoka Azubuike". Bleacher Report.
  3. ↑ Potter’s House hoops star Udoka Azubuike commits to Kansas
  4. ↑ Josh Jackson and Udoka Azubuike impress at McDonald's All-American Game
  5. ↑ Udoka Azubuike honored at first stop of the Jordan Brand Classic Senior Night Tour
  6. ↑ Kansas commit Udoka Azubuike added to World Select Team at Nike Hoop Summit
  7. ↑ Five-star basketball recruit Udoka Azubuike picks Kansas
  8. ↑ ESPN
  9. ↑ Potter’s House hoops star Udoka Azubuike commits to Kansas
  10. ↑ Four-star center Udoka Azubuike commits to Kansas
  11. ↑ KU freshman Udoka Azubuike out for the season with wrist injury
  12. ↑ Reiss, Aaron (March 29, 2018). "'Pushing and shoving' Doke is this KU walk-on's job. He has bruises to prove it". Kansas City Star.
  13. ↑ Bedore, Gary (March 7, 2018). "Udoka Azubuike out for Big 12 Tournament, KU hopeful he can return for NCAAs". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ Adelson, Andrea (March 30, 2018). "Nigeria approves Udoka Azubuike's mother's visa to travel to USA". ESPN. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Udoka Azubuike". Sports-Reference.com.
  16. ↑ Bedore, Gary (March 29, 2018). "A former KU center analyzes the game of Jayhawks big man Udoka Azubuike". Kansas City Star.
  17. ↑ Newell, Jesse (April 24, 2018). "This decade, no player has done what KU's Udoka Azubuike just did". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  18. ↑ Newell, Jesse (March 4, 2018). "Devonté Graham, Bill Self take home coaches' All-Big 12 basketball awards". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ Newell, Jesse (March 6, 2018). "Devonté Graham, Bill Self win AP All-Big 12 awards". Kansas City Star. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Kansas' Udoka Azubuike entering draft without agent". ESPN.com.
  21. ↑ http://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-anthro/#!?sort=WINGSPAN&dir=1
  22. ↑ "Udoka Azubuike withdraws from NBA Draft. Here's what his return means for KU". KansasCity.com.
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