[Snatalini247Participant]

I cant see him being a great player in the nba or anything more than a defensive role player. hes not extremely athletic hes already 23 he doesnt seem to have alot of potential and yet he still has a very raw offensive game i cant ever see him developing in to a great player and definitely not one worth the 6th overall pick…nice draft golden state…

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

The only facts you stated were that he’s 23 yrs old and the 6th pick…. how do those facts make him a bust?

[JoeWolf1]

I don’t think Epke Udoh is going to be a poor NBA player. He isn’t as raw on offense as you think. He has a variety of post moves and a good jump shot. Were there guys drafted after him that will probably have better careers, yes, and I’m not a huge fan of him being picked that high, but he’ll be a good pro, Golden State runs like crazy and he’s used to a high paced offense at Baylor, he runs the floor well, and can provide them some shot blocking. I’m not sure where he fits into the equation with Wright and Randolph, but he is different enough to get some time, especially with Wright’s injury problems so far. I don’t think he’ll ever be an all-star, but I could see him reaching a level where he could put up 12 points 7 or 8 boards and 2 blocks a game.

[JazzinSLCParticipant]

Just wish he was going to a better situation. The Warriors are a mess.

[HandDownManDown13Participant]

I dont get why everyone keeps saying Udoh is raw offensively. He actually has a very developed dribble game when he catches the ball at the elbow.
He has an array of moves which allow him to create his own shot, the exact opposite of being raw.

Raw is when he scores only from dunks created by other players. An example of this would be Derrick Favors.

I like udoh’s defensive ability but i also like his offense. However, i still think monroe would have been a better pick for the warriors

[scoutguruParticipant]

I agree Cameron. Udoh shocked me with how relatively advanced his moves were considering what he used to be at Michigan. When I read an early progress report of how his game was, I said to myself “Udoh, this can’t be.” Then when I saw him play eventually, I came away really impressed. He puts the ball on the floor pretty comfortably and can make a variety of moves for a guy his size, and has a consistent and smooth looking jumper. He’ll be ok, nothing great, but he’ll be fine.

[kanyedabestParticipant]

anyone watch this guy in the ncaa’s?? the dude actually has a decent crossover for a big man…. especially against sam houston state his dribbling was on full display and i think he could be a 12 and 7 type guy his rookie year

[JNixonParticipant]

Udoh actually, as has been stated now, has a polished offensive game and can score with his back to the basket and facing up. He has the ability to be a mismatch threat and can operate out of the triple threat with his passing ability, which is impressive for a big man. And to top it off, he’s a pretty good defensive player too (to put it mildly). He’s going to be a solid 10 ppg 7 rpg and 1 bpg big man next season, but he’s probably not going to get a bunch better. I think he’ll be a solid 12 or 13 ppg, 8 rpg and 1 bpg big man.

He actually reminds me of Joe Smith, and I think he’ll be a very solid player for a bunch of teams. He has the talent to play for just about any coach in the NBA.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

He was a less than 45 percent shooter against the RPI 100, his blocks went down as did his offensive rebounding in those games as well. It does not bode well for his NBA readiness. I also look recent college shot blockers, and while the skill may translate that ability alone does not get a guy on the floor. Hasheem Thabeet, Shelden Williams, Hilton Armstrong, Dominic McGuire, Tyrus Thomas, Jason Thompson, Solomon Jones, JaVale McGee, Cedric Simmons, Joel Anthony, Jermareo Davidson, etc. How many of these guys have lived up to the reputation as meaningful defensive presences that were associated with them coming out of college?

What works in his favor is that he is going to an up tempo team, which should help cover for the fact that he is a string bean who would get eaten alive by the stronger bigs in the halfcourt. It also helps that Golden State stinks. On paper, it may appear that there will be a logjam up front: Randolph, Wright, Biedrins, Turiaf, Udoh, Gadzuric, and Radmanovic are all long 4s and 5s. but by January, they’ll probably be scouring the NBDL for another one and trying to sell off one or two of them for a pick or cap relief. Udoh will get a chance, and it isn’t far-fetched that he can do as well as Anthony Tolliver did last year. I don’t know if Tolliver’s showing will get him an NBA job for next season, and don’t know if Udoh replicating that feat will mean anything either, but I do think there is a good chance of it happening.

[OhCanada-Participant]

What else would Tolliver have to do. The guy managed to get rebounds on G-State the weakest front court and weakest desensive team in the NBA. He also managed to knock the ball down from 3 and play 2 positions.You telling me New York wouldnt sign this guy to a Min. Level Contract?

[FDAPO]

udoh might be decent but taking him at #6 was ridiculous…

Greg Monroe will be the better NBA player… The pistons actually did something right for the first time in a long while

[JNixonParticipant]

Yeah they definitely took him a little too high, especially considering Greg Monroe was still on the board.

[mini_marzParticipant]

i think that he is a lot like Taj Gibson from the Bulls… great shot blocker, solid rebounder with a good mid-range game and people forget that he averaged like 3 assists or something close to that… he will be a nice player, not sure about all-star but any team would want him

[JuCoopParticipant]

I want to thank Golden State for selecting Udoh and making Joe Dumars job easy…Monroe was a no brainer and still dont know why Golden State would take Udoh over him…Golden State is a horribly run organization and even if Udoh had any chance of being “decent” it will be ruined in Golden State..

[PlatypusParticipant]

who do you guys compare him to

[sheltwon3Participant]

Udoh may have gone higher than I expected and it would appear that GSW may trade Randolph or use him at the 3 until he gets stronger. Udoh does not have a high ceiling but should come in right away and put up decent numbers. He will go down as a bad pick and not a bust because most people would agree he is top 15 and he is ready to play so that would make him good enough to not be a bust at 6 but also there to be guys behind him who are so much better.

[JNixonParticipant]

My comparison for Ekpe Udoh is Joe Smith.

[IknoBall12Participant]

im starting to get tired of ppl saying udoh has a raw offensive game. becuase if u watched him play this season his game isnt raw at all. its jus not great. Its like sum of u are jus reading scouting reports u find on the internet and decide to jus stick with that instead of watching the guy play. I think udoh is a big upgrade over brandan wright. im guessin golden state drafte dhim becuz hes the best big man they could find when it comes to playing defense and running the floor well. They prob wanted 2 have an uptempo team as usual. he will not be a bust i expect 2 see him in the rookie soph game and stuff like that. he will produce pretty well i think.

[JoeWolf1]

I completely agree, I think some people just pick the guy who they know the least about who was picked the highest and talk a bunch of crap without ever seeing him play. I don’t think there were a lot of people really high on him being picked at 6, but he’s gonna produce and one underrated part of his game is that he can pass well in the post, something that will also come in handy in Golden State.

[PurpleMonkeyDishwasherParticipant]

Wow… Detroit fans ripping on the Warriors when the Pistons gave all of their long term money away last summer to 2 guys that show up only to collect checks (Charlie V/ Ben Gordon).

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

“im starting to get tired of ppl saying udoh has a raw offensive game. becuase if u watched him play this season his game isnt raw at all. its jus not great. Its like sum of u are jus reading scouting reports u find on the internet and decide to jus stick with that instead of watching the guy play.”

I saw that guy play plenty, and his offensive game is RAW. Tell me the last top six NBA pick to have Sam Houston State’s coach game plan to have him beat them. Sam Houston State went triangle and two on Dunn and Tweety and dared Udoh, Lomers, Jones, and Acy to beat them. They took #3 seed Baylor to the final minute. Did you watch that game? Kansas found an easy way to take Udoh out of the game, put a Morris twin’s body on him. Happen to miss that game? Want to talk about Okie State, TAMU, Texas, ODU, St. Mary’s, Duke? Hey, Norfolk State and Morgan State aren’t on NBA schedues. Is there any point in repeating the fact that his shooting percentage against good teams blew. Should we simply ignore the fact that he didn’t shoot jumpers once conference season started because they weren’t up by 20 and couldn’t afford to potentially waste possessions by having a bad shooter take long 2s?

He is going to a bad team, and will get the opportunity to play. Like I said, I saw what NBDL lifer Anthony Tolliver did in that system, and if they don’t care about winning can plug in Udoh and probably see similar results. He won’t be that good, and he certainly won’t make a bit of difference in whether the Warriors ever get out of NBA purgatory. For a number six pick, that isn’t a good thing.

[JNixonParticipant]

His offensive game isn’t raw. It’s not polished, but it’s far from raw. Raw offense is like what Derrick Favors is. Or a guy like Al-Farouq Aminu is. Udoh has moves that those guys could dream about having right now. Raw players don’t have the passing ability, face-up skills, and the command of counter moves down low that Udoh has. There is a difference between not being a finished product and being raw.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Derrick Favors showed far offensive ability from the high post at the end of the season than Udoh ever did, so I am quite certain he wouldn’t dream of whatever you think Udoh can do. Also, if Udoh had such a wonderful faceup game and counter moves down low, then why was he so miserable against good teams? Why couldn’t he finish against them? Favors went right at Duke and UNC at the end of the year and was able to finish.

[JNixonParticipant]

I’m not going to argue with you if you think Derrick Favors has a better high post game than Ekpe Udoh man. It’s not even close.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Pop in the tape of Udoh versus Duke and then Favors versus Duke. Who looks like the future NBA stud and who looks like a raw prospect?

[JNixonParticipant]

So are you trying to say Favors played better against Duke than Udoh did?? If you are not only are you wrong, but you’re SUPER, DUPER wrong.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

As far as applicability to the NBA, absolutely. Favors came on at the end of the year and showed the ability to attack the basket and finish strong at the rim. Udoh never flashed the kind of ability or potential Favors did. Not once.

[JoeWolf1]

I don’t think anyone thinks Epke Udoh is going to be a #1 or #2 option in the NBA, but he does have a face up game, can pass well out of the post and has good foot work. Favors is by far more raw, attacking the basket and dunking over people is more applicable to the NBA for him because his max reach is 12’1”, but that doesn’t mean he can knock down a 15 footer or do a spin move and hit a cutting team mate like Udoh can. I don’t think anyone is arguing NBA poitential here, but no way is Favor’s offensive game more advanced than Udoh’s.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Udoh can’t knock down a 15-footer reguarly. Most of his assists came from the fact that teams didn’t guard him on the perimeter. Situations and context matters. If Favors and Udoh swapped teams, Baylor would have won the title. I’m sorry but if Udoh’s offensive game was more advanced then why would a Sam Houston State team DARE HIM to beat them? Baylor ended up winning, but it was a 3-versus-14, and it went to the fina minute. Does anyone honestly think a team would have game planned to try to have Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins, or Greg Monroe beat them. Never.

[JNixonParticipant]

Baylor had Favors on their team. His name? Quincy Acy.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Wow, you have no clue.

[JoeWolf1]

BTPH, I’m not arguing that Udoh is better, nor that he warranted the #6 pick but it’s not un common for a team not to focus in on a 3rd option of a team. Udoh was Baylor’s #3 option on offense which doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have post skills. Baylor is known for having good guards and they’d rather have the ball in Tweety Carter or Dunn’s hands at the end of the game. Udoh still had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists in that game. He’s not a take over player, i never said he was, i never said he’s better than Favors, Cousins, or Monroe. You can have a solid array of post skills and moves without being a take over player, he isn’t Tim Duncan polished, but he isn’t super raw either.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Did teams challenge Patrick Patterson or Kyle Singler the way Sam Houston State did Udoh? Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins… Scheyer and Smith… I didn’t think so. I mention Udoh in the same company as Favors, Cousins, and Monroe because that is the company in which he was drafted. He is an inferior prospect than all three by considerable margin. Like I wrote earlier, I think he can do what Tolliver but not too long ago Golden State was a decent team. They sold a high second round pick that turned out to be Armon Johnson (and guys like Stephenson, Hobson, Ebanks, and White were available) because they said the NBDL is just as good as the 2nd round for finding players. Maybe, but they lost a ton of games last year with those NBDL guys on the floor. They spent the 6th overall pick on a guy who not a whole lot of people will argue make a difference in whether the Warriors get better or not. This is an organization that is now in the company of Minnesota as the most mind-boggling mess in the league.

Also, I think that people read these scouting reports and don’t have a very critical and analytic mind when doing so. A person does not have to be a former NBA player or seasoned NBA coach/scout to get a really good feel for certain players. Opposing coaches, in their game plans and styles, give as much as anyone needs to know. It is revealed preference. At no point did I ever watch a Baylor game and think the opposing team was frightened of Udoh beating them on offense. I know teams were scared of Turner, Wall, Monroe, and Johnson. I saw K-State show the upmost respect for Jimmer Fredette when they had Pullen face guard him full court whether he had the ball or not, and then a second man at him as soon as he crossed half court in a tournament game. Even if a person thinks I’m an idiot who has no clue, at very least they ought to believe Frank Martin can spot talent. How NBA ready can Hassan Whiteside be when UTEP and Tulsa game planned to have their big men go right at him? Even when Caracter wasn’t in the game, they threw it in to Claude Britten. That guy was regarded as a lottery pick by the draft sites, but UTEP felt comfortable having Claude Britten go right at him.

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

isn udoh close to 24?it doesnt bode well for him

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

isn udoh close to 24?it doesnt bode well for him

[DaGuywhodidurmaParticipant]

isnt udoh close to 24?it doesnt bode well for him

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