By Jordan Rivas | August 17, 2007 | Print Print

After an offseason primarily consisting of non-action, the Spurs have finally made a deal that will have an immediate impact on the team this season.

As of yesterday the Spurs have officially signed guard/forward Ime Udoka, reportedly inking the second year player to a two year deal worth around $2 million.

The real question is how much of an effect Udoka will have. This isn’t a major signing, but
from the looks of it Udoka is a solid role player who could fill in the spot behind Bruce Bowen.
His defensive prowess is the most promising aspect of his game. Udoka has already been compared to Bowen or a Raja Bell type defender, which should make him a good fit on a defensive oriented team.

Taking a look at some footage of Udoka, the thing I immediately noticed was his level of activity and hustle. He seems like a good rebounder and a player who gets his hands on the ball on defense. He’s also said to be an effective three-point shooter.

I do have some thoughts about what this does for the Spurs’ rotation, however. If you look at the four veterans who play the wing positions for the Spurs - Ginobili, Finley, Bowen, Barry - and then add in Udoka to that mix, somebody has to be the odd man out.
I’m thinking it will be Barry, and that Popovich will prefer the energy and defense of Udoka to the spot up shooter. If Udoka turns out to be a reliable shooter, he could see his fair share of floor time with the Spurs and make a nice impact.

And finally, let’s established this early. The man’s name is pronounced “EE-may you-DOE-kuh”. He is of Nigerian descent and played for the Nigerian National team in the 2006 FIBA World Championships. He played high school hoops at Jefferson High School in Portland and played college ball at Portland State University.

And I believe the appropriate phrase is, welcome to the Spurs.

Comments

5 Comments so far

Chris on August 18, 2007 4:20 pm
Great article Jordan. Im really happy taht you joined the PS blog. You are a great addition. NOw lets hopet this Udoka thing works out. I just hope that Manu doesn’t lose any kind of protagonism.
Jeff -- Spurscast Co-Host on August 18, 2007 5:28 pm
What is an ever better addition is the fact Chris is a big time loser. He thought he could beat me in fantasy league but i stomped the crap ou of him. He is a 4th place loser in fanatasy laegue and I am a champ. Looks like all Argentinians are losers.
Michael on August 18, 2007 9:07 pm
oh lord, is this ever going to end. Do I have to start filtering the comments for the word fantasy and loser. Anyway, I agree with Chris. Great post Jordan. I like that it doesn’t seem they’ll lose much defensively when Bowen heads to the bench. The one youtube clip that is available showed a lot about the type of player he is and the work ethic he has. I’m excited about the addition.
No Blood No Foul on August 18, 2007 10:45 pm
I don’t think Udoka will have any impact at all in the upcoming season. While I agree he’s a likely candidate to steal some of Barry’s minutes, he’s not the shooter that Barry is (Barry hit 44% of his 3’s last year, Udoka about 40%) and he doesn’t have the experience or basketball IQ of Barry. That’s why Pop is going to play Barry in crunch time, not Udoka.

However, how smart are the Spurs. They bring in Bowen’s replacement a year or two early.
Michael on August 19, 2007 2:01 pm
No Blood No Foul. First of all, I love the name and good luck with your new blog. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the minutes. Barry does have the IQ and is a better shooter, but Udoka is a pop-type player. He has the work ethic, the grit, the determination that I think will win over Pop. Plus everyone knows Pop is a defensive coach so I think he’ll favor the better defender. We’ll see how it all goes down, but there’s definitely a logjam at the 2/3.