Former Tiger appointed assistant coach in the NBA

Ime Udoka has logged a lot of
hours on the court in the NBA,
and for Nigeria over the years.
A member of the all-tournament
team at Afrobasket 2011 in
Madagascar, Udoka spent last
season with UCAM Murcia in
Spain, helping save the club from
relegation.
Now Udoka is making a big
change.
As he predicted in an interview
with FIBA.com earlier this year,
Udoka has become an assistant
coach in the NBA, and with the
club he last played for in the
league in 2010-11.
The 35-year-old has joined the
staff of San Antonio Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich.
“Ime Udoka possesses an
outstanding work ethic as well
as a natural inclination to teach,"
Popovich said.
"We are excited to add someone
with his potential to our
coaching staff.”
Udoka could have continued
playing basketball because he
was a solid guard with Murcia,
shooting 41% (31 of 75) from
behind the arc and averaging
more than 12 points per game.
That performance came on the
heels of a strong showing with
Nigeria at Afrobasket 2011 in
Madagascar, where he had
averaged more than 12 points
and almost seven rebounds.
Nigeria won bronze in
Antananarivo to earn a trip to
the FIBA Olympic Qualifying
Tournament (OQT) but Udoka,
citing the need to spend time
with family, did not accompany
the national team to Caracas,
Venezuela, for the OQT.
The Africans upset Greece in the
Quarter-Finals and ultimately
defeated the Dominican Republic
to reach the Olympics for the
first time.
Though he missed out on the
Olympic experience, Ime Udoka
was nevertheless elated with
Nigeria’s qualification.
He tweeted: “Congratulations
to the Nigerian national team on
the Olympic berth. So proud of all
my Naija brethren and happy for
the country in general.”
Udoka did have a chance to
stand out for Nigeria in one of
the greatest international
tournaments of all time.
He played at the 2006 FIBA World
Championship and averaged more
than 14 points and five rebounds
and almost four assists as
Nigeria advanced to the Eight-
Finals in Saitama, Japan, where
they lost 78-77 in the dying
seconds to Dirk Nowitzki and
Germany.