Udoka Azubuike

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Udoka Azubuike
File:20160330 MCDAAG Udoka Azubike rebound.jpg
No. 20 – Utah Jazz
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1999-09-17) September 17, 1999 (age 25)
Lagos, Nigeria
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 (2016–2020)
NBA draft 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career 2020–present
Career history
2020–present Utah Jazz
2021–2022 →Salt Lake City Stars
Career highlights and awards

Udoka Timothy Azubuike (/juːˈdoʊkə ˌæzəˈbuːki/; born September 17, 1999) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Early life

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Azubuike was the youngest of 3, 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] In 2012, 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 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 per 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 was 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][9] Azubuike received offers from many universities including Duke, Texas, Kentucky, and shortened his final list of colleges to Florida State, Kansas, and North Carolina.[10] On January 28, 2016, he announced his choice to play college basketball at the University of Kansas.[11]

College career

Freshman year

In his freshman season he started in six of the 11 games he played in before tearing ligaments in his left wrist, which ended his season.[12] Before the injury, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 62.9% field goal percentage.

Sophomore year

For the 2017–2018 season, Kansas' coach Bill Self recruited Kansas football player James Sosinski to defend Azubuike during practice.[13] Udoka started every game of the regular season but missed the Big 12 tournament after spraining his left MCL.[14] He returned for the NCAA tournament until KU's loss to eventual champion Villanova in the Final Four.[15] He averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and led the nation with a 77% field goal percentage for the season.[16] His field goal percentage broke the single-season record for Kansas and the Big 12 Conference.[17] This high percentage was in part due to the majority of his field goals being slam dunks, which typically have a higher completion percentage than jump shots or layups. He had more dunks than any other college player going back to the 2009–2010 season.[18] He was awarded All-Big 12 third team by the conference's coaches[19] and second team by the AP.[20]

On April 20, 2018, Azubuike announced his intention to enter the 2018 NBA Draft. He did not initially hire an agent, which would allow him to return before the combine.[21] Azubuike was 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) weighing in at 274 pounds and holding the second-longest wingspan at 7'7", behind only Mohamed Bamba.[22] On May 30, 2018, he announced his intent to withdraw from the draft and return to Kansas for his junior season.[23]

Junior year

Azubuike was selected as an honorable mention to the 2018–2019 All-Big 12 preseason team.[24] On December 4, 2018, he severely sprained his right ankle against Wofford and missed the following four games.[25] On January 5, 2019, Azubuike injured his wrist during practice.[26] An MRI revealed he tore a ligament in his right hand.[27] He underwent season-ending surgery on January 9, 2019.[28]

Kansas won all nine games Azubuike played including against top ten teams Tennessee and Michigan State. He finished the season averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds.[29]

On April 22, 2019, Azubuike announced he would return to Kansas for his senior season.[30] According to KU coach Bill Self, “We’re all very excited about Udoka making the decision not to enter the [NBA] draft. Unfortunately for him, injury is the reason as he still cannot participate (at) what would be the NBA combine or workouts for the NBA teams."[31]

Senior year

Azubuike scored a career-high 29 points in a 90–84 overtime win over Dayton on November 27, 2019.[32] On February 22, 2020, Azubuike scored 23 points and had a career-high 19 rebounds in a 64–61 win over top-ranked Baylor.[33]

At the conclusion of the regular season, Azubuike was named the Big 12 Player of the Year[34] and NABC Defensive Player of the Year.[35] Azubuike averaged 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game as a senior.[36] Azubuike's career field goal percentage of 74.9% is an NCAA record. [37]

Professional career

Utah Jazz (2020–present)

Azubuike was selected with the 27th pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz.[38] On November 24, 2020, the Utah Jazz announced that they had signed Azubuike.[39] Azubuike was assigned to the Jazz's NBA G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, for the start of the 2021 G League season, making his G League debut on February 10, 2021.

On March 25, 2022, Azubuike underwent right foot surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the 2021–22 season.[40]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Utah 15 0 3.8 .444 – .800 .9 .0 .1 .3 1.1
2021–22 Utah 17 6 11.5 .755 – .545 4.2 .0 .1 .6 4.7
Career 32 6 7.9 .707 – .667 2.6 .0 .1 .5 3.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Utah 1 0 1.0 – – – 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 1.0 – – – 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0

College

* Led NCAA Division I
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Kansas 11 6 12.9 .629 – .380 4.1 .2 .2 1.6 5.0
2017–18 Kansas 36 34 23.6 .770* – .413 7.0 .7 .6 1.7 13.0
2018–19 Kansas 9 9 20.4 .705 – .344 6.8 .6 .4 1.6 13.4
2019–20 Kansas 31 30 27.7 .748* – .441 10.5 .9 .5 2.6 13.7
Career 87 79 23.4 .746 – .416 7.9 .7 .5 2.0 12.3

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Potter’s House hoops star Udoka Azubuike commits to Kansas
  11. ↑ Four-star center Udoka Azubuike commits to Kansas
  12. ↑ KU freshman Udoka Azubuike out for the season with wrist injury
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 7-foot center Udoka Azubuike returning to KU for senior season, Wichita Eagle, Gary Bedore, April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ https://kuathletics.com/%f0%9f%94%a5-dok-all-time-ncaa-leader-in-field-goal-percentage/
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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