What, someone couldn't give Stern a card to get the guys friggin' name right? I hope this guy ends up doing well with the T-wolves. Garnett should be a good teacher for him.
Give the guy a break. He's gotta read all those crazy European names that no one has a clue how to pronounce. On the other hand it was pretty funny watching him try so hard to pronounce some of them.
That's how you pronounce it...that's how it is in the NBA draft guide and on ESPN.com...the N is silent.
I don't know how you get Endi out of Ndudi, unless that middle du is silent, which would be rather odd. But whatever....the real test will be if he makes it.
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune Wolves go back to high school with Ebi Steve Aschburner, Star Tribune Published June 27, 2003 WOLF0627 Drafting in the first round was a move from the Timberwolves' past -- they hadn't had a pick since 1999 -- so it probably made sense when they reached even further into their past to select a young player straight out of high school. No one is suggesting that forward Ndudi Ebi of Westbury Christian High School in Houston is another Kevin Garnett. But Garnett remains the most successful selection in Wolves history, a prospect who wowed Kevin McHale and Flip Saunders with his skills and potential before he ever got his diploma. Ebi did the same thing, and in what was nationally considered a surprise pick, the Wolves grabbed him at No. 26 Thursday night. "We first saw him when I went to Cleveland to watch the McDonald's All-American Classic," said McHale, the Wolves vice president of basketball operations. "I remember calling Flip up and saying, 'This LeBron James is a monster, he's unbelievable.' And I said, 'This kid going to Arizona is going to be an unbelievable player.' " The Wolves picked the University of Minnesota's Rick Rickert in the second round, 55th overall. The Wolves also reportedly were busy with trade discussions Thursday, including one deal that allegedly would have sent forward Joe Smith and guard Anthony Peeler to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Sam Cassell and center Ervin Johnson. Ebi -- whose name is pronounced "Indy E-bee" -- is a slender 6-9 small forward, described by McHale as a good shooter with great athletic ability, who opted for the NBA over Arizona coach Lute Olson's program. "He's the guy we thought had the highest amount of potential, that was left in the draft at [No.] 26 by far," McHale said. "The kid's really athletic. He needs to get stronger, like all high school kids. He needs to work on his shot but his shot's better than people think. He's a world-class athlete at 6-8, 6-9." Ebi, who turned 19 on June 18, was born in London and raised in Enugu, Nigeria, one of Godwin and Elizabeth Ebi's three children. The family moved to Houston in time for Ndudi to begin high school there, and he led Westbury Christian to three Texas 4A titles in his four years. As a senior, Ebi averaged 22.7 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks, earning a variety of national high school honors and the invitation to compete in the ballyhooed McDonald's showcase. "Most of the other kids in that workout were a little intimidated by LeBron James," McHale said. "He took him on and said, 'Let's get after it.' Now, he didn't shut him down. But they got after it. He showed a lot of heart. No fear whatsoever, and I liked that." Saunders said it was premature to guess what sort of role Ebi would play for the Wolves next season. But he added: "As we looked at it, if this kid goes to college, in a year or two, he's a top 10, top five pick. What we really like about him was, good work ethic. Talks to you, really looks you in the eye. So he's extremely coachable. He's got a lot to learn but there's no better way to learn than with KG here." The Wolves were in the rare position of sweating out Ebi's availability -- though many NBA observers had him going later than No. 26, a few projected him being selected as early as No. 11 by Golden State. Besides, the Wolves were out of practice for the first round. They had traded their top pick in 2000 and sat out the initial round in 2001 and 2002 as part of the Joe Smith cheating penalties. When Argentinian shooting guard Carlos Delfino -- a player the Wolves coveted -- went to Detroit at No. 25, the choice of Ebi was simple. "He has too much upside, we thought, to just pass on him here," Saunders said. "We didn't think there was anybody else there at 26 to give us a lot of help. If Troy Bell had slid down, that would have been a different story." Bell, a native of Minneapolis and a product of Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, was one of the biggest surprises of the first round. The point guard from Boston College went to the Boston Celtics at No. 16. He had impressed the Wolves, among others, at the Chicago pre-draft camp in early June but was expected to still be available near the end of the first round. The Celtics traded him later in the evening, sending Bell to Memphis with No. 20 pick Dahntay Jones for No. 13 Marcus Banks and No. 27 Kendrick Perkins. Another player high on the Wolves' list, forward Aleksandar Pavlovic of Serbia, went to the Utah Jazz at No. 19. The night began as expected, with Akron high school phenom LeBron James going to Cleveland at No. 1, followed by Serbian teen center Darko Milicic to Detroit and Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony to Denver. Toronto's selection of Georgia Tech forward Chris Bosh at No. 4 also was according to form. But when Miami, with the fifth pick, took Marquette guard Dwyane Wade and the Los Angeles Clippers followed by picking Central Michigan center Chris Kaman, most NBA observers' mock drafts quickly unraveled. The Chicago Bulls, with a sudden need at point guard due to rookie Jay Williams' motorcycle accident, selected Kansas' Kirk Hinrich. The early loser was forward Maciej Lampe of Poland, who had been projected as high as No. 5 but still was waiting in the wings at Madison Square Garden in New York when the Wolves picked 21 slots later.
