Brian Grant, Kurt Thomas, Etan Thomas, A. Davis or....

Who would yo rather have?

Brian Grant, Kurt Thomas, Etan Thomas, A. Davis or....

Every week, SI.com's Albert
Lin uncovers a player you
should know about now and
expect to see much more from
later.

Uche Nsonwu-Amadi stands
6-foot-10 and weighs 260 pounds.
He is a star center for the Wyoming
Cowboys. He is 25 years old. Yet
when he declared for the NBA
draft last April, it wasn’t because he
needed or intended to draw a
paycheck this season. He simply wanted to go through the evaluation process.

Nsonwu-Amadi (full name pronounced "OO-chay en-SAWN-woo
uh-MAUD-ee")had hoped to play in the NBA’s Chicago predraft camp, but the
NCAA scuttled that plan when it announced that any early-entry candidate who
subsequently returned to college would have to sit out one game for every one
he played in Chicago. Still, Nsonwu-Amadi didn’t come away empty-handed.

”I said when I announced my intention to enter the draft that I fully expected to
be back at Wyoming for my senior season,” Nsonwu-Amadi said. “I thought it
would be a good experience for me, and it was. I had an opportunity to receive
input from people in the NBA, and that input was very positive. I learned some
things that will help me become a more effective player.”

It’s easy to see what pro scouts like about Nsonwu-Amadi. Like his
countryman, future Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, Nsonwu-Amadi grew up
in Nigeria playing soccer. As a result, he has the footspeed and footwork of a
much smaller person. His lateral movement is excellent, and he runs the floor
well. One might even describe him as nimble, if someone his size can be such.

His agility is most apparent when
Nsonwu-Amadi is playing defense. Though
not a great shot-blocker, he is able to slow
down offensive players by beating them to
spots and holding his ground. When he
moves into position to grab a rebound, he
does so in a smooth, graceful manner,
exhibiting none of the awkwardness that
many big men display.

On offense Nsonwu-Amadi frequently sneaks past defenders down the court,
and every once in a while he’ll unleash a spin move or even drive to the basket
and leave observers with mouths agape. He also has a pretty good jumper out to
18 feet.

What’s missing, though, is someone who takes better advantage of his enormous
size. Wyoming coach Steve McClain said before the season that he expected
Nsonwu-Amadi to be more aggressive and to average 16-20 points, and no
doubt those NBA folks expressed similar sentiments. Yet that hasn’t happened.
Nsonwu-Amadi still shows only glipses of the brute force that befits a man with
his physique (comparisons run from Karl Malone to Charles Oakley). He will
settle for turnarounds rather than power his way inside (he takes fewer than five
free throws a game).

The paradox, however, is that Nsonwu-Amadi brings a relentless approach to
the boards; 12 times this season he has had 10 or more rebounds in a game.
Somehow, this aggression hasn’t translated to his post play. His scoring average
is still well into double figures, but he has hit McClain’s 16-point plateau just five
times this season.

The most recent came last Saturday, when Nsonwu-Amadi showed off his feet
and hands in the last minute to lift the Cowboys over Colorado State 62-60. With
20 seconds left he moved into a passing lane and deflected a CSU pass to
teammate David Rottinghaus. After a timeout, point guard Jason Straight milked
the clock before driving and flipping a shot/lob to Nsonwu-Amadi, who secured
the ball and converted a layup with :02.7 showing on the clock.

”I went into the locker room telling my teammates it was like a dream,” said
Nsonwu-Amadi, who had a slight case of the flu. “It was just great and I
couldn’t believe it.”

Much of Nsonwu-Amadi’s unassuming nature can be attributed to his foreign
upbringing. As NBA fans have learned, international big men tend to be more
skilled and less physical than their American counterparts; Yao Ming is a stellar
example of a U.S. basketball neophyte who seems almost too respectful of his
opponents. But Nsonwu-Amadi’s background also accounts for the tremendous
physical gifts he has, and it no doubt explains his tremendous work ethic,
coachability and intelligence.

Nsonwu-Amadi made the Mountain West All-Academic team last year with a
3.09 GPA in management information systems. He and his cousin, former
Wyoming forward Ugo Udezue, were featured on NPR in April 2001. (Though
they were born into the same tribe, Nsonwu-Amadi did not know Udezue played
for Wyoming until McClain told him during the recruiting process.)

And you want tough? Nsonwu-Amadi had started every game in his Cowboys
career (he spent his freshman year at Indian Hills Community College in
Ottumwa, Iowa) before being sidelined last fall with a knee sprain, forcing him to
miss five of the next six contests. But the one time he did play -- in a win over
Loyola Marymount -- Nsonwu-Amadi improbably recorded career highs of 23
points and 18 rebounds.

”He’s a man-child,” LMU coach Steve Aggers said. “He’s big, strong and hard
to guard in the post.”

That’s the Nsonwu-Amadi NBA scouts want to see more of. Because of his
age, Nsonwu-Amadi does not have as much upside as a typical (read:
underclassman) draftee, but he will contribute much more quickly than the
average rookie. He should immediately be an effective rebounder and post
defender, perhaps along the lines of a pre-2001 Ben Wallace. Right now he is
considered a borderline first-rounder, so his play the rest of the season and in
postseason camps will determine whether he secures that guaranteed contract.

Twenty-four-year-old rookies, let alone 25, are rare in the NBA, but
Nsonwu-Amadi hopes to prove himself worth the wait.