Ndudi Ebi

Ndudi Hamani Ebi (born 18 June 1984) is a Nigerian/Britishprofessional basketball player currently playing for Auxilium CUS Torino of the Italian Serie A.

He committed to the University of Arizona, but reneged by making himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Ebi was selected out of Westbury Christian School by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round (26th pick overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft.

Ebi was raised in Nigeria before moving to Houston, Texas as a teenager to attend high school. He holds both British and Nigerian citizenship.

Professional career

Ebi was the first first-round pick in three years for the Wolves; the team had forfeited five first-round picks after the team owner illegally made a deal with forward Joe Smith (the penalty was later reduced to three picks). After Ebi appeared in 19 games over the course of two seasons, Minnesota attempted to get an exception from the NBA so they could send him to the NBA Development League. Ebi was technically ineligible as the 2005–06 NBA season was his third year, and the D-League only accepted players who had been in the NBA for less than two years. Minnesota wanted to guide Ebi in, and they tacitly argued that Ebi was hardly a two-year veteran in the figurative sense, given his limited playing time. The league rejected Minnesota's request regarding Ebi, and to make room for Ronald Dupree, Minnesota released Ebi on 1 November 2005.