More on Ekpe Udoh
A few leftovers from today’s story on Baylor’s Ekpe Udoh, an Edmond Santa Fe alum.
- Udoh and Oklahoma State’s Obi Muonelo were teammates in high school, and during that time, it was Muonelo who received most of the recruiting attention.
“He’s a very dangerous player,” Muonelo said. “He can make a lot of noise in the Big 12. Defensively, he’s a monster.”
- Udoh wears No. 13 because his middle name is Friday. Couldn’t bring myself to write some sort of, “so he’s a NIGHTMARE for opponents on offense!” line. That said, I think that’s the best reason for selecting a number I’ve ever heard. Ndamukong may translate to “House of Spears,” but Ekpedeme, Udoh’s full first name, translates to “Lion.” I call it a push.
- Udoh was only heavily recruited by Pitt and Michigan. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State came on late, but by that time, Udoh said he’d developed relationships with the Michigan staff that had him ready to get to Ann Arbor as soon as possible.
“I just thought Michigan would be the best fit for me because they had post players leaving and I’d have a chance to come in and play,” Udoh said. “And I kind of just wanted to get out of Oklahoma and get out of the norm.”
- When he decided to leave Michigan, he did give OU and OSU a second look, but the only school he seriously considered (other than Baylor) was Arkansas.
“I really enjoyed my trip and meshing with the players at Baylor,” Udoh said.
- Big 12 basketball fans have seen some great play in the paint in recent years, between Blake Griffin and Michael Beasley, but Udoh’s four-game stretch is among the best in awhile, especially considering Udoh is nowhere near as gifted offensively as Griffin or Beasley.
In the Bears’ final four non-conference games, he’s averaging 15 points, 17 rebounds and 7.25 blocks per game.
“He’s such a skilled guy, I think that’s the thing that’s been surprising to a lot of people,” said Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. “When he left Michigan, a lot of people just thought of him as a defender. Whether he had that in his package or he worked on it all last year, he’s certainly showing a lot of different things right now.”
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment