Post by John on Feb 23, 2006 1:31:46 GMT -4
From the Dallas Fort Worth Star Telegram...
For the newest Fort Worth Flyer, a former NBA first-round draft pick, it's all just basketball for Ndudi Ebi.
Whether it was winning three state titles in four years in high school, or finally getting consistent minutes as a professional, it's just basketball. There are many aspects of the profession that the 21-year-old still has to learn, but, at the end of the day, Ebi said, he will just play and let most other things work themselves out.
"This is basketball," Ebi said. "It's just basketball."
It is basketball, but Ebi's career hasn't been as simple as his time at Houston Westbury Christian.
Almost three years ago, Ebi, a Parade and McDonald's High School All-American, reneged on a letter of intent to play at Arizona, and was the 26th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. After two subpar seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he is playing in the NBA Development League.
Ebi's decision to pass on Arizona and put himself in the draft gave him a guaranteed contract, but not guaranteed playing time. Despite the handful of success stories, not every can't-miss, high school phenom becomes an instant NBA superstar.
In his two seasons with the Timberwolves, Ebi played in only 19 games, while averaging 4.5 minutes a contest. Last season, he played in only Minnesota's final two games.
The 6-foot-9 forward had NBA-type potential and a strong work ethic during his senior season in high school, and said the decision between college and the pros wasn't difficult.
"It was pretty much that I wanted to get to the NBA and I did it," said Ebi, who was born in Nigeria. "I never thought about college. I signed with a school, but, ever since I was in the eighth grade in 1998, I never really thought about college.
"My dream was always to reach the NBA out of high school and play the game of basketball."
Ebi surprised some coaches and others who had watched him in high school.
"There was no question he had potential to be an NBA player," said Mike Kunstadt of Texashoops.com, whose site ranked Ebi as the nation's fourth-best senior in 2003. "Personally, I was surprised when he declared himself for the draft, but nothing surprises me now. Had he gone to Arizona for a couple of years, or at least one, he would have been more ready to step up, rather than be on an NBA team and not get to play."
The Timberwolves gave up on Ndudi Ebi (pronounced Indy EE-bee) after two seasons, waiving him two days before Minnesota's 2005-06 season opener to make room for Ronald Dupree, a forward who went undrafted in 2003. Ebi was still owed the final $803,600 of his $2.2 million, three-year contract, and spent the first half of the season back home training in Houston.
The Flyers acquired Ebi on Feb. 4 from the D-League available player pool. The move helps Fort Worth fill the offense lost when Martell Webster and Sergei Monia were recalled by Portland that day.
Ebi has played in four games with the Flyers, and is averaging 21 minutes a game. He scored 17 points in his first start Feb. 14, and blocked six shots in Sunday's victory over Fayetteville.
"He is working," Flyers coach Sam Vincent said. "The thing that I've seen that I like about Ndudi is he has a lot of energy and a lot of passion about playing this game. He's screaming, he's yelling, he gets into players' faces. I can appreciate that.
"I think the first couple times he did that, I have to watch to see how he was doing it -- with what intent? But his intent is motivation, and I like that about him."
Ebi said he doesn't consider his time in Fort Worth a second chance, and he's not using what happened in Minnesota as extra motivation to get back to the NBA. All these events are just a part of his ultimate goal, which he said is to become a great basketball player. All Ebi can do is play basketball and let the rest work itself out.
"Getting waived from Minnesota doesn't give me the energy to go to the gym and work out even more," Ebi said. "I've always had motivation. I'm at 150 percent every day I go out.
"I made 500 shots [Thursday]. Me getting waived from Minnesota doesn't make me want to make 600 shots. I work extremely hard. If I wanted to make 600 extra shots, it's because of me."
For the newest Fort Worth Flyer, a former NBA first-round draft pick, it's all just basketball for Ndudi Ebi.
Whether it was winning three state titles in four years in high school, or finally getting consistent minutes as a professional, it's just basketball. There are many aspects of the profession that the 21-year-old still has to learn, but, at the end of the day, Ebi said, he will just play and let most other things work themselves out.
"This is basketball," Ebi said. "It's just basketball."
It is basketball, but Ebi's career hasn't been as simple as his time at Houston Westbury Christian.
Almost three years ago, Ebi, a Parade and McDonald's High School All-American, reneged on a letter of intent to play at Arizona, and was the 26th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. After two subpar seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he is playing in the NBA Development League.
Ebi's decision to pass on Arizona and put himself in the draft gave him a guaranteed contract, but not guaranteed playing time. Despite the handful of success stories, not every can't-miss, high school phenom becomes an instant NBA superstar.
In his two seasons with the Timberwolves, Ebi played in only 19 games, while averaging 4.5 minutes a contest. Last season, he played in only Minnesota's final two games.
The 6-foot-9 forward had NBA-type potential and a strong work ethic during his senior season in high school, and said the decision between college and the pros wasn't difficult.
"It was pretty much that I wanted to get to the NBA and I did it," said Ebi, who was born in Nigeria. "I never thought about college. I signed with a school, but, ever since I was in the eighth grade in 1998, I never really thought about college.
"My dream was always to reach the NBA out of high school and play the game of basketball."
Ebi surprised some coaches and others who had watched him in high school.
"There was no question he had potential to be an NBA player," said Mike Kunstadt of Texashoops.com, whose site ranked Ebi as the nation's fourth-best senior in 2003. "Personally, I was surprised when he declared himself for the draft, but nothing surprises me now. Had he gone to Arizona for a couple of years, or at least one, he would have been more ready to step up, rather than be on an NBA team and not get to play."
The Timberwolves gave up on Ndudi Ebi (pronounced Indy EE-bee) after two seasons, waiving him two days before Minnesota's 2005-06 season opener to make room for Ronald Dupree, a forward who went undrafted in 2003. Ebi was still owed the final $803,600 of his $2.2 million, three-year contract, and spent the first half of the season back home training in Houston.
The Flyers acquired Ebi on Feb. 4 from the D-League available player pool. The move helps Fort Worth fill the offense lost when Martell Webster and Sergei Monia were recalled by Portland that day.
Ebi has played in four games with the Flyers, and is averaging 21 minutes a game. He scored 17 points in his first start Feb. 14, and blocked six shots in Sunday's victory over Fayetteville.
"He is working," Flyers coach Sam Vincent said. "The thing that I've seen that I like about Ndudi is he has a lot of energy and a lot of passion about playing this game. He's screaming, he's yelling, he gets into players' faces. I can appreciate that.
"I think the first couple times he did that, I have to watch to see how he was doing it -- with what intent? But his intent is motivation, and I like that about him."
Ebi said he doesn't consider his time in Fort Worth a second chance, and he's not using what happened in Minnesota as extra motivation to get back to the NBA. All these events are just a part of his ultimate goal, which he said is to become a great basketball player. All Ebi can do is play basketball and let the rest work itself out.
"Getting waived from Minnesota doesn't give me the energy to go to the gym and work out even more," Ebi said. "I've always had motivation. I'm at 150 percent every day I go out.
"I made 500 shots [Thursday]. Me getting waived from Minnesota doesn't make me want to make 600 shots. I work extremely hard. If I wanted to make 600 extra shots, it's because of me."