| Ekpe Udoh |
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 | | Recent Tweets |
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| All Tweets | Baylor 83 Oklahoma State 70. James Anderson pretty average. Nice game from Anthony Jones playing the 3 for Baylor. Ekpe Udoh very impressive
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | Most impressive part about Ekpe Udoh's game today might be his passing. Really showing nice court vision with some very smart, simple plays
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | If Ekpe Udoh can get these shots off against the likes of Kansas and Texas he's got a good chance of moving into the top-10 I think.
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | Ekpe Udoh showing the entire package here in the 1st half. Creating off dribble, knocking down J's, pulling up from midrange, posting up,etc
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | We've had him up there for a little while now. Check his profile RT @geoffreymoore: @DraftExpress Ekpe Udoh the fastest riser on the board?
2010-01-22 14:46:33 | | Next 5 TV Dates |
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| | Top 25s - Full List |
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| Team: Baylor, Junior |
| Physicals | Positions | Rankings | Misc |
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H: 6' 10"
W: 240 lbs
Bday: 05/20/1987
(22 Years Old)
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Current: PF/C
NBA: PF
Possible: PF/C
| Round: 1 Pick: 13 in 2010 Mock Draft
Rank 5 in NCAA Juniors
Rank 14 in Top 100 Prospects
RSCI: 153
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High School: Santa Fe
Hometown: Edmond, OK
Best Case: Rasheed Wallace W/out The Attitude
Worst Case: Solomon Jones
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| Basic Per Game Statistics - Comprehensive Stats - Statistical Top 25s |
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| Prospect of the Week: Ekpe Udoh
December 2, 2009
Jonathan Givony
Transferring schools might become all the rage pretty soon, if the success that Wesley Johnson at Syracuse and Ekpe Udoh at Baylor are having thus far is any indication.
 | | Walt Middleton, Baylor Athletics |
Udoh took one look at then-incoming head coach John Beilein’s methodical, perimeter oriented Princeton-type offense and decided it wasn’t for him, eventually leaving Michigan for the greener pastures of Baylor. Based off what we’ve seen thus far, he seems to have made a very good decision for himself. Not only is he being heavily featured in Baylor’s offense, but he appears to have improved his skill-set significantly in the red-shirt year he was forced to sit out.
Udoh is still the same long, broad-shouldered and athletic big man he was at Michigan, but he now is looking more and more like a true power forward. He sees plenty of touches both facing and with his back to the basket, looking fairly comfortable either way creating shots for himself.
In the post, Udoh has a very nice jump-hook he likes to turn to, even if he doesn’t always have enough girth to establish great position down low. He’s an excellent finisher as well, shooting 66% from the field on the season so far.
The place that he shows even more intrigue is on the perimeter, as he appears to have improved his footwork and shooting touch quite a bit, and has become much more effective attacking defenses off the dribble.
Baylor likes to isolate him about 15-17 feet away from the basket and let him go to work, asking him to create his own shot in pure one on one situations. This is something you don’t see all that much at the college level, particularly not with big men. Udoh shows a solid first step and intriguing footwork here, usually pivoting or spinning his way into the paint, and often converting impressively. This is obviously a part of his game that has potential.
He’s not immune to turning the ball over in these situations—either by picking up his pivot foot too quickly on his initial attack or by trying to execute too complicated a move once he’s inside the paint. His balance doesn’t seem to be all that great and he has trouble finishing through contact at times, but it’s nonetheless intriguing to see a 6-10 player flash these kinds of skills.
Udoh has also knocked down three of his six 3-point attempts on the season thus far in seven games, showing solid form and nice touch. He also made a number of mid-range jumpers in the film we took in, indicating that this isn’t a fluke and he’s indeed improved this part of his game. On the downside, he’s only made 42% of his free throws on the season, which is obviously something that needs serious work. Nonetheless, if he can continue to establish himself as a legit floor-spacer as the season moves on, his stock will certainly rise with all the other things he brings to the table.
With his outstanding length, good size and solid athleticism, Udoh has all the tools necessary to be a very valuable contributor on the NBA level as both a defender and rebounder. So far this season he’s putting them to good use, averaging 9.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocks. His timing appears to be solid, and he does a terrific job using his long wingspan to contest shots.
Baylor plays quite a bit of zone, and with Udoh manning the 4-spot we get a decent amount of opportunities to see him step out onto the perimeter, where he shows pretty good feet. He seems to have good potential as a pick and roll defender, although at the moment it appears that his fundamentals aren’t always the best. He gives up post position too easily at times and tends to get backed down in the post, not always having the bulk to fight back against stronger opponents.
 | | Walt Middleton, Baylor Athletics |
Udoh also seems to lose some focus and intensity defending off the ball, although part of this may be attributed to his conditioning, which appears to be a work in progress coming off an 18-month absence from competitive play. Adding strength and gaining experience will only make Udoh more effective on this end of the floor, as there is no question that he can develop into a very solid defender and rebounder in the NBA in time, which even without his budding offensive skills would already make him a solid rotation candidate.
Right now Udoh doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar screen, as he’s receiving virtually no attention from the national media or the other NBA draft outlets. Expect that to change pretty soon, as it’s only a matter of time until people take notice of how much Udoh has improved.
Comparing his last season at Michigan with what he’s done so far at Baylor, on a per-minute basis, Udoh has more than doubled his scoring rate, improved his field goal percentage from 44% to 62%, upped his rebounding, assists and free throw attempts considerably, maintained his shot-blocking production, and reduced his fouls dramatically.
Its possible that we've yet to see the best of him just yet as well, as most players tend to take some time to shake off the rust after sitting out an entire season the way Udoh was forced to last year.
Watching him play, it’s tough not to think about the way Jordan Hill rocketed up draft boards right around the same time last year. Udoh might not be quite as explosive as Hill, but he’s got excellent physical attributes in his own right and is much more polished on both ends of the floor.
He’s getting strong reviews off the court as well from people close to the Baylor program. Head coach Scott Drew told us he’s “a class act and a winner,” via email and raved about how he “does so many little things on and off the court that go unnoticed.”
Only 7 games into the season, it may still a bit early to be jumping to too many conclusions, but there are surely plenty of reasons for Baylor fans and NBA scouts alike to be excited about what Udoh is showing thus far.
 [Read Full Article]
Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Big 12 (Part Two: #6-10)
September 7, 2009
Jonathan Givony
After sitting out all of last season due to transfer rules following his move from Michigan to Baylor, Ekpe Udoh will now have an excellent opportunity to show what kind of progress he’s made over the past year.
Standing 6-10, with a great frame, long arms, and solid athleticism, Udoh’s intrigue will always start with his rare physical attributes. These tools manifest themselves mostly in the form of his shot-blocking and offensive rebounding ability at the moment, although it will be interesting to see how much polish he’s been able to add as of late.
Based on the film we were able to take in from the 2007-2008 season while playing for Michigan, Udoh appears to be a fairly limited player offensively, which was reflected in his low scoring output and poor shooting percentages. He doesn’t possess much of a back to the basket game, mostly being relegated to catching and finishing or catching and shooting due to his poor footwork and non-existent left hand, and rarely getting to the free throw line in turn. He doesn’t have great hands and didn’t always appear to know his limitations from what we could tell.
Udoh did show some potential as a jump-shooter, though, even knocking down 6/15 3-point attempts, which is not what you would expect from most 6-10 shot-blockers. He has good form and nice touch on his shot, leading you to believe that he may show much more in this area in a larger offensive role for Baylor this season. The fact that he only managed to convert on 59% of his free throw attempts in 07/08 shows that he obviously had a ways to go in this area, though.
On the offensive glass is where Udoh will be able to help Baylor immediately, as his excellent size and length gives him a big advantage at the college level, and he also shows solid hustle pursuing the ball and coming up with rebounds out of his area. He’s a surprisingly average defensive rebounder, though, as he doesn’t always seem to box out his opponent (chasing blocked shots instead), not showing quite the same determination to make his presence felt as he does on the other end of the floor.
Defensively is where Udoh will make a name for himself this season most likely, as he may have a chance to emerge as one of the top shot-blockers in college basketball. His incredible reach is a huge asset, as it allows him to contest, alter and most importantly reject plenty of shots around the rim, at times showing impressive timing in the process. He ranked 8th amongst all shot-blockers in our database in 2007-2008, and definitely has the potential to improve even more in this area.
From a fundamentals standpoint, Udoh has some work to do based on what we saw at Michigan, as he tends to give his man too much space while allowing him to establish deep post position on him. This is partially due to his lack of lower body strength, but also because of his inclination to just wait for a shot to go up and then go and send it back—something that obviously won’t work in the NBA.
On the perimeter is where Udoh struggles the most like almost all big men, often looking flat-footed trying to stay in front of quicker big men who can handle the ball, and being relatively ineffective defending the pick and roll. Udoh’s length helps him compensate for his average lateral quickness in a major way, though, and it’s not rare to see him recover quickly after already getting burned and still manage to meet an opponent at the rim for an emphatic block.
Udoh is gathering some quiet buzz around Baylor already for the way he’s reportedly looked in practice, as the coaching staff appears to be extremely pleased with the progress he’s made from what they told us personally. Despite the fact that he’ll be turning 23 in May, Udoh may have made a wise decision to leave Michigan, as he was never going to be a fit in John Beilein’s slow, perimeter oriented offense, and already saw his role and production shrink from his freshman to sophomore years. It will be very interesting to see how he looks this upcoming season, as there is always a demand for 6-10 long and mobile shot-blockers in the NBA.
[Read Full Article]
Top NBA Draft Prospects in the Big 10 (Part One: #1-#5)
October 16, 2007
A raw, but intriguing big man, Ekpe Udoh was the third post player in the lineup for Michigan during his freshman season, and showed nice flashes of potential against Big Ten competition. This season, he will be more heavily relied on by new head coach John Beilein, on a Michigan team that will look much different from last season. Udoh can be labeled as a project for the time being, but has the raw tools to attract attention from scouts at the next level.
Udoh’s intrigue as a prospect starts with his promising shot-blocking ability. During his freshman campaign he averaged 4 blocks per 40 minutes (pace adjusted), ranking him 10th in the country amongst returning draft prospects. The sophomore big has a monster wing-span, and shows good anticipation both on the ball and coming from the weak-side. The talented big man can block shots with either hand, and avoids foul trouble surprisingly well for a young shot-blocker.
Offensively, Udoh remains raw, but can step out and hit the mid-range jumper with decent consistency. He lost confidence with his jumper during some portions of his freshman season, but shot the ball more accurately as he adjusted to more playing time later in the season. From the low block, Udoh has yet to become a scoring threat due to his lack of strength. In addition, better footwork will be a necessity for him to develop a back to the basket game. Udoh did show a little potential shooting a hook shot last season with both hands. Unfortunately, he really lacked touch on this shot, and sometimes resorted to turning and wildly releasing it, without gaining the proper position first.
Udoh must really focus on increasing his strength over the next couple of seasons. The lack of strength hurts him badly on the defensive glass, where he often loses the inside position to stronger players. He does rebound the ball effectively on the offensive end, showing good hands to compliment his terrific wingspan. A better body will allow Udoh to finish strong inside, rather than shying away from contact like he did last season.
Ekpe Udoh has the tools to make it to the NBA down the road, but he still remains a raw prospect at this point. Over the next couple of seasons, he must focus on becoming stronger while further developing his offensive game. It will be interesting to gauge the progress he makes this season playing against Big Ten competition, though it is likely that Udoh will have to stay at least a few more years at Michigan, depending on how long it takes him to add bulk and polish up his skill-set.
[Read Full Article]
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