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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