By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Virtus Bologna has signed big man Ekpe Udoh to a two-year deal, the club announced Sunday, confirming Eurohoops’ prior reports. Udoh will make his European return for the first time since 2017, when he last played for Fenerbahce and lifted the EuroLeague trophy.
Per the club’s press release:
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna S.p.A. announces that it has reached an agreement until June 30, 2023 with Ekpe Udoh.
General Manager Paolo Ronci stated the following:: “At the end of a negotiation complicated by the presence of interest from EuroCup and Euroleague teams, Ekpe Udoh has chosen to come to Virtus Segafredo. A player with 400 NBA games and a two-year European career with Fenerbache, crowned by a Euroleague MVP win, in addition to two national titles in the Turkish BSL, he brings to the roster a further, great addition of winning mentality and experience at the highest levels. We welcome Ekpe, who has signed a contract through June 30, 2023.”
A 208cm center, Ekpe Udoh was born in Edmond on May 20, 1987. He played in the NCAA for the Michigan Wolverines and the Baylor Bears.
At the NBA Draft, he was selected in the first round as the sixth overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. He debuted in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and then moved to the Milwaukee Bucks and later to the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2015 he signed with Fenerbahce, wherein two seasons he won two Turkish championships, two Turkish Cups, a President’s Cup, and the 2017 EuroLeague. In that final Udoh, after being included in the best quintet of the Euroleague, also won the MVP title. The titles won in Europe were his return ticket to the NBA among the ranks of the Utah Jazz, where he remained until 2019. In the last two seasons, the American center with Nigerian citizenship played in the Chinese CBA, first with the Beijing Ducks and then with the Beijing Fighters.
Udoh debuted with the Nigerian senior selection in 2015, in 2019 he participated in the World Championship in China and now he’ll be part of the team that will take the court in Tokyo.