Spurs: Making a stand allows Udoka to find a home
Web Posted: 10/07/2007 10:47 PM CDT
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
Shortly after signing the first multiyear contract of his professional career, new Spurs forward Ime Udoka celebrated by doing something he had never done before.
He went shopping for a house — to buy, not rent.
“I looked through almost every neighborhood in San Antonio,” Udoka said, “but I found my spot.”
In San Antonio, Udoka has indeed discovered a place to put down roots. And it only took him seven years, 13 job changes and trips to four countries to find it.
In August, the Spurs lured Udoka from Portland with a guaranteed two-year deal worth slightly more than $2 million, instantly setting him up with more job security than he has ever known.
A 6-foot-6 defensive stopper with a better-than-average 3-point touch, Udoka has been billed as the heir apparent to Bruce Bowen in San Antonio. (Although Udoka might have to wait a little longer to fill that role after Bowen signed a two-year contract extension Sunday).
Like Bowen in his pre-Spurs days, Udoka’s nomadic lifestyle to this point has been better suited for pup tent ownership than home ownership.
Undrafted out of Portland State in 2000, Udoka’s basketball passport has been stamped in such exotic locales as Charleston, S.C., Glen Falls, N.Y., and Fort Worth. In between, Udoka crammed onto his résumé overseas stops in Spain, France and Lithuania.
He might be the only player in history to spend parts of the same season playing in Fargo, N.D., and Argentina, a rare double Udoka pulled off in his first season out of college.
The longest amount of time Udoka, 30, has spent in one place were two seasons with the North Charleston Lowgators of the NBDL from 2002 to 2004. His shortest stint was the 10 days he spent with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004, his first NBA call-up, keeping a spot warm for a hobbled Kobe Bryant.
“Kobe came back quicker than he was supposed to,” Udoka said of his brief stay with the Lakers.
After a career of living out of suitcases, and at the fickle whim of the 10-day contract, Udoka earned his big break last season.
The final player added to Portland’s 15-man roster last summer, Udoka — who to that point had played in just 12 NBA games with the Lakers and New York Knicks — made the Trail Blazers out of training camp.
He went on to start every game for which he was healthy, 75 in all. He averaged 8.4 points per game and ranked among the league’s top 20 most accurate 3-point shooters at 40.6 percent.
Udoka’s calling card always has been his defense. Less than a week into his first Spurs camp, he already is drawing raves from Bowen, one of the best defenders in the league.
“He’s a guy you want on your team,” Bowen says, “because you can go to war with him.”
Tough and tenacious, Udoka approaches the game with the hungry abandon of a man playing for his next meal. For most of his career, that’s exactly what he was doing.
In his mind, Udoka still isn’t far removed from the long, sleepless bus rides and the dingy budget motels of basketball’s bush leagues. He will never forget that not-so-good life, even after the Spurs made him a guaranteed millionaire.
“Obviously, it takes the stress off,” Udoka said. “But I’m not going to change the things I do on the court. I’m going to continue to work hard the same way.”
Udoka would be wise to retain the fighting spirit that made him an NBA player to begin with.
Though his contract with the Spurs is guaranteed, playing time is not. The Spurs returned all 12 players from last year’s NBA championship team, making meaningful minutes difficult to come by for any newcomer.
At least early on, there’s a chance this former starter in Portland could find himself struggling to just get off the Spurs’ bench.
“All things being equal, if everybody stays healthy, one would say it’s going to be tough for him to find minutes this season,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Unless he beats somebody out.”
Never one to shy away from a test, Udoka is looking forward to that challenge.
In the meantime, he will busy himself with the task of becoming a proud homeowner for the first time. He has already closed on a new home in San Antonio, and plans move out of his current digs at the Omni Hotel next month.
After a career built by perpetually moving on, Udoka can’t wait to finally move in.
“I definitely hope to be here for a long time,” he said.