A closer look at new KU big man Udoka Azubuike

By Matt Tait     Jan 28, 2016

All right. By now, you guys surely know how these highlight videos work.

They’re exactly that. Highlights. You don’t see the mistakes, the benchings, the rough stretches or the moments of confusion and missed steps. And, frankly, with most of the top high school prospects, guys who dominate the competition because of their superior size, athleticism and skills, there are not a ton of games that produce anything but highlights.

Such seems to be the case with Udoka Azubuike, the 6-foot-11, 260-pound center from Potter’s House Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, who moments ago announced on ESPNU that he would play his college ball at Kansas University.

The five-star Azubuike is the No. 27-ranked player in the Class of 2016 and the top-rated center and he chose KU over UNC as his finalists but also seriously considered North Carolina State and Florida State.

His addition to the KU program not only gives KU an exciting prospect to look forward to in the future, but also someone Jayhawk fans can salivate over right now. That’s because, if it were allowed, Azubuike absolutely would be able to suit up and help this program today. He might not be a star, mind you (we’ve learned our lesson there, right?) but with that frame, he certainly would help.

At 6-11, 260, he’s considerably bigger than anything the Jayhawks have down low today, standing an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier than the Jayhawks’ biggest body (6-10, 240-pound Landen Lucas).

Beyond that, Azubuike plays a style that none of KU’s current players seem to be able to play. In short, he likes to dunk and he likes to dunk very, very hard.

Like most of you, I have not actually seen Azubuike play. But I have watched plenty of film on him and have been impressed by how well he moves. Sure, in these highlights, you’re mostly treated to an endless buffet of Azubuike dunking the ball with authority and anger — and let’s face it, KU could use some of that — but in some of the clips (and even when you’re watching him hurt the rim) you can see how well this guy moves on his feet, how well he runs the floor, how good his balance is and how you could see him turning into a handful in the paint with the proper training.

He figures to get that and more at Kansas and his arrival will be one of the more exciting things to look forward to before the 2016-17 season.

Now that you’ve watched those, I want you to take a look at this gem I found — God bless the Internet — that was taken when Azubuike was just 14 years old.

He stood 6 feet, 10 inches tall and already showed strong affection for the slam dunk.

The thing I want you to pay attention to in the following clip is not his ferocious form or how mind-blowing it is that a 14-year-old can dunk like that, but instead look at his frame.

Watching this clip and then watching the one above shows you just how much Azubuike’s body has developed in the past few years. And that’s without the help of Andrea Hudy. Imagine what the KU body-shaping guru will do with this guy when he gets here.

Finally, for a little better perspective on Azubuike’s actual skills and talent, here are a couple of videos where you can actually see Azubuike go up against players of similar size and skill.

In the next couple of videos, Azubuike is facing off against DeAndre Ayton, the No. 4 ranked player in the Class of 2017.

In the first one, Ayton is No. 0 in black and Azubuike is No. 35 in white. In the second clip, Ayton is No. 92 in white and Azubuike is No. 105 in red.

Here’s another one, from 2014, of Azubuike going up against Stephen Zimmerman, who last year chose UNLV over Kansas.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.