Udo...who?

The name is not familiar to ordinary basketball fans. It sounds more like an exotic cross-breed of an Arabian goat and an Irish sheep, or a newly-discovered species deep in the Mariana trench. But to true-blue NBA followers, the name rings a bell. And to a Laker fan like me, I would love to shackle this guy to one of Luym building’s posts.

Sometime last November, I featured Nigerian-born players who are on the active list of the NBA. Recently, this guy has shown enough talent that he literally and figuratively put the clamps on the NBA’s supreme diva, Kobe Bryant, when San Antonio whipped the Lakers last week.

For most players, guarding Kobe is nightmarishly humiliating. The guy can do just about anything with almost anyone thrown againts him. But for Ime Udoka, it’s just another day on the job. Playing 23 minutes, he contributed 18 points but more importantly, he alternated guarding between Lamar Odom and Kobe, making them work for their points and helping the team on the boards. The Spurs also has one of the league’s best perimeter defenders in Bruce Bowen but Udoka has started to cut into his minutes.

Although two inches shorter than Bowen’s 6-7, 200-pound frame, Udoka is stronger and more physical at 220 pounds. Coach Greg Popovich likes the toughness and as an added upside, Udoka has become comfortable with the offense.

You will get your minutes in San Antonio if you can score some and can hold it down on defense and he has shown himself capable of doing it. The tougness is evident two years ago when he played for the Nigerian national team competing in the African championships.

In a game againts host Algiers, they were involved in a bench-clearing brawl and Udoka was dropping people down like in Mortal Kombat. One instance, he caught a guy in midair with his fist and sent him to sleep. The people organizing the tournament were also part of the mob, carrying sticks and throwing rocks thru their locker room windows.

It took the police to escort them to safety. Udoka supplies the needed energy boost and he has it but even the newest Spur is old at 30. He averaged 8.4 points in 75 games with Portland last season.

A knee injury dropped his market value but Popovich saw a productive bruiser and signed him to a multi-million dollar contract. -00- It can now be told. The Lakers will find their wins elusive even with Kobe around. They desperately need Andrew Bynum. Forget Kwame Brown, he can’t even make those dunks. His was a dead investment. Chris Mihm is much better manning the post and can shoot from medium range. With the trading deadline three weeks away, it would be a good idea to pursue Jason Kidd and ship Kwame, Javaris Crittenton and Sasha Vujacic to the Nets.

Imagine Kidd directing the Laker offense. He has a very reliable back-up in Derek Fisher and the up-and-coming Jordan Farmar. There will be no shortage in the 3 and 4 positions as the Lakers have a good bench. It’s gonna be showtime once again.!

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Have you seen the new Jordan XXIII? With all the hype as to the environmentally friendly materials used in the shoe, the shoe still looks like mura’g isda sa bato. Limited editions sell for P10,000 more or less while the regulars cost between P8,000 to P9,000. Would you shell out this much if your feet would look like the slayer of Magellan’s aquarian namesake? The Jordan XI was the best among the Air Jordans.

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