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<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Utah Jazz drafted Oduka Azubuike, a 21-year-old center from Nigeria who played college basketball at Kansas.</li><li>Azubuike played soccer growing up until he watched a video of <keyword id="56589" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Michael-Jordan">Michael Jordan</keyword> and thought, "That's pretty cool. I think I can do that."</li><li>Azubuike moved to the U.S. at 13, set an NCAA record for field goal percentage, and then registered the highest standing vertical among centers at the draft combine.</li></ul><p>Utah Jazz rookie center <keyword id="10300606" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="udoka-azubuike">Udoka Azubuike</keyword> was not inspired to play basketball until he saw himself in some Michael Jordan highlights.</p><p>Azubuike, a 21-year-old from Kansas taken by the Jazz in the 2020 NBA draft on Wednesday, grew up in Nigeria playing soccer.</p><p>He told ESPN that basketball wasn't on his radar until he watched a VHS tape of Jordan highlights. That's when he decided to play basketball.</p><p>"I was 11 or 12 back then. My brother is the one that had the video tape. We didn't have, like, internet back then," Azubuike said.</p><p>"I just started having love for the game, just seeing Jordan and the air just fly [by]. In my mind, I'm like, 'That's pretty cool. I think I can do that.'"</p><p>Azubuike moved to the U.S. in 2013 at 13 years old after being discovered in the Basketball Without Borders program. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2767373-think-reaching-the-final-4-is-tough-then-you-havent-met-kansas-udoka-azubuike">According to Bleacher Report's Jason King</a>, Azubuike had barely played basketball when in his first competitive game in high school, he matched up with Joel Embiid.</p><p>Azubuike caught the eyes of Kansas' Bill Self, and later decided to take Kansas' offer over North Carolina and Florida State because Embiid convinced him to go to Kansas.</p><p>As it turned out, Azubuike could immediately play. His stats grew with his role at Kansas. He set an NCAA record for field goal percentage, shooting 75% in his senior year while averaging 13.7 points per game.</p><p>And he can fly like Jordan. <a href="https://theathletic.com/2203760/2020/11/18/udoka-azubuike-worked-his-way-into-becoming-a-legit-nba-center/">According to The Athletic's C.J. Moore</a>, Azubuike got in the best shape of his life for his senior season at Kansas. At the draft combine, he registered a 37-inch standing vertical, the best number for a center in combine history.</p><p>Azabuike now enters a situation where he can immediately contribute as a backup to Rudy Gobert.</p>

A 21-year-old from Nigeria taken in the NBA Draft said he decided to play basketball after watching Michael Jordan highlights and thinking 'I can do that'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Streeter Lecka/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">While the Kansas Jayhawks headline the AP Top 25 preseason poll with 37 first-place votes, seven different programs earned votes for the top spot for the first time since the 2004-05 season.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>For the third time in program history, the Kansas Jayhawks headline the <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll">AP Top 25 preseason poll</a> with 37 first-place votes.</li><li>No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga, and No. 4 Duke appeared in the top four spots - in various combinations - across nearly half of the ballots.</li><li>Although the Jayhawks lost three of last season's starters, <span>they have added three notable transfers and the fifth-ranked recruiting class to pair with their returning starters from last year's Final Four squad.</span></li></ul><p><br />In most recent years, the conversation at the start of the college basketball season surrounds one mega team that is destined to dominate the rest of the field. </p><p>But not this year.</p><p>For the first time since the 2004-05 season, seven different teams received first-place votes in the <a href="https://collegebasketball.ap.org/poll">AP Top 25 preseason poll</a>. While the Kansas Jayhawks came out on top with 37 votes for the top spot, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 Duke, No. 5 Virginia, No. 6 Tennessee, and No. 9 Villanova all received at least one first-place vote.</p><p>That being said, voters seemed to reach a consensus with the top four teams. Kansas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, and Duke appeared in the top four spots - in various combinations - across nearly half of the ballots.</p><p>Although the Jayhawks lost three of last season's starters - including <span>AP All-American Devonte' Graham - they have added three notable transfers and the No. 5 recruiting class to pair with upperclassmen starters Udoka Azubuike and Lagerald Vick from last year's Final Four squad.</span></p><p><span>For his part, Hall of Fame coach Bill Self did not seem to expect his team to take the top spot this early on:</span></p><p><span>"Obviously we lost a lot off last year's team with Devonte', Svi [Mykhailiuk] and Malik [Newman], so I'm a little surprised that the writers put us there this preseason," Self told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/f5db782d31aa4b1c9a69f30c794ffa03">AP's Aaron Beard</a>. "It's definitely a spot we welcome and certainly know the goal is to be playing to that ranking by when it counts the most. With the young players, we know it's going to take some time before we're anywhere close to where we're going to be, but I do like this team and I think we have a chance to be very good."</span></p><p><span>Although they haven't sat atop the preseason poll since the 2014-15 season, the No. 2 Wildcats have found themselves in the preseason top 5 for the last eight years, while the No. 4 Blue Devils - who topped the rankings in each of the past two years - have been a top-10 team in the each of the last 23 preseason polls. Third-ranked Gonzaga, meanwhile, earned its highest ranking in a preseason AP poll in program history.</span></p><p><span>Here's the entire AP Top 25:</span><span></span></p><p>1. Kansas (37)</p><p>2. Kentucky (19)</p><p>3. Gonzaga (1)</p><p>4. Duke (4)</p><p>5. Virginia (2)</p><p>6. Tennessee (1)</p><p>7. Nevada</p><p>8. North Carolina</p><p>9. Villanova (1)</p><p>10. Michigan State</p><p>11. Auburn</p><p>12. Kansas State</p><p>13. West Virginia</p><p>14. Oregon</p><p>15. Virginia Tech</p><p>16. Syracuse</p><p>17. Florida State</p><p>18. Mississippi State</p><p>19. Michigan</p><p>20. TCU</p><p>21. UCLA</p><p>22. Clemson</p><p>23. LSU</p><p>24. Purdue</p><p>25. Washington</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sc/draper-z-man-climbing-system-helps-people-climb-like-a-gecko-2018-10">This company spent 10 years developing a product that allows humans to scale walls like a gecko</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Preseason AP college basketball poll shows that the season is wide open

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/duke">Duke</a> sophomore point guard <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/tre-jones">Tre Jones</a> delivered a stunning cross-court dime to guard Cassius Stanley that was so crafty, it surprised players on both sides of the floor.</li><li>Jones threaded the needle and sent the ball soaring between a defender's legs before hitting Stanley in stride.&#xa0;</li><li>The bouncy Blue Devil freshman took two strides and hammered the ball home to tie the game.</li><li>The No. 4 Blue Devils would go on to pull off the 68-66 upset against the No. 3 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/kansas-jayhawks">Kansas Jayhawks</a> at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/madison-square-garden">Madison Square Garden</a>.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</strong></li></ul><p>Duke fans have long known that their team has a special player in Tre Jones, but the sophomore point guard is so crafty that sometimes he manages to surprise his own teammates.</p><p>During the Blue Devils' Tuesday-night upset of the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks, Jones delivered a stunning cross-court dime to guard Cassius Stanley that stupefied the defense and astounded Winston himself.</p><p>As soon as Jack White secured the defensive rebound, Winston took off down the floor. White kicked the ball out to Jones, who spotted his young teammate across the court and fired off a long bounce pass that threaded the needle and found Stanley in stride. The bouncy Duke freshman took two paces before launching towards the basket and hammering home a floor-shaking dunk.</p><p>"I ran my lane expecting it, but when I caught it, I was surprised," Stanley told Business Insider after Tuesday's game. "I'm pretty sure he threw it through someone's legs. It was like when you're at the ocean and you get a smooth little rock and you skip it, that's what I was expecting, but it bounced right to me and I was like 'okay, I've gotta finish this.'"</p><p>Jones, meanwhile, knew all along that the flashy pass would hit the mark.</p><p>"Oh, for sure, I definitely thought that was getting through to my guy Cash," Jones said. "I knew that was going to be a big momentum play for us, especially after he had just had a crazy dunk the play before. I had to find him somehow."</p><p>Stanley's second slam tied the game at 47 with just more than 11 minutes remaining in the second half, and he would go on to add eight points in the Blue Devils' 13-3 run down the stretch.</p><p>The Los Angeles native game to Duke as a four-star recruit and was not necessarily expected to start amidst a Blue Devil roster that features a slew of former five-star and top-10 recruits. But Stanley got the nod Tuesday night and certainly made the most of it, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.</p><p>"It was rocking. It was amazing," Stanley said of leading his team to victory in Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. "I looked up and it was packed. That was insane. Driving to the shoot around today I was smiling like a little kid."</p><p>"That's literally what you dream for," Stanley added. "I felt like a little kid."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Jones' artful dishes and Stanley's awe-inspiring athleticism were far from the only bright spots on display for the Blue Devils Tuesday night. Freshman Matthew Hurt added 11 points on 3-for-7 shooting from range and hit an ice-cold go-ahead trey with 3:58 to go in the contest. Classmate Vernon Carey Jr. - a 6-foot-10 center who held his own in the paint against Kansas' seasoned big man Udoka Azubuike - was perfect from beyond the arc, draining two threes to pad his 11-point, six-rebound performance.</p><p>But above all, Duke's defense was the focal point in its highly-anticipated season debut. The Blue Devils forced a whopping 28 turnovers from the Jayhawks and held them scoreless from the field for close to five minutes down the stretch to walk away with the 68-66 victory and lots of confidence moving forward.</p><p>&#xa0;"Coach always told us 'this is an old-fashioned Duke team. It's not going to be pretty. We're going to be ugly sometimes, but we're going to grit it out and we're going to get dubs,'" Stanley said. "So we expected it. This is what we came for, and we knew they weren't going to lay down and we weren't going to lay down, so we knew it was going to be a dogfight."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/college-basketball-2019-preview-top-teams-ncaa-2019-11" data-analytics-position="1">Everything you need to know about the top teams in college basketball this season</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duke-basketball-almost-lost-to-division-ii-school-at-home-2019-10">Duke almost lost an exhibition game to a Division-II team at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Blue Devil fans have a right to be concerned</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ranked-college-basketball-top-players-to-watch-this-season-2019-11" data-analytics-position="1">The top 15 players to watch this college basketball season, ranked</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nwsl-championship-game-sellout-crowd-what-it-was-like-2019-10" data-analytics-position="3">I went to the National Women's Soccer League title game that had a record-breaking sellout crowd - here's what it was like</a></li></ul><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-famous-sports-logos-hidden-messages-2019-10">10 world-famous sports logos with hidden meanings</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Duke star Tre Jones threw such a beautiful pass that his teammate couldn't even believe he wound up with the ball

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A 21-year-old from Nigeria taken in the NBA Draft said he decided to play basketball after watching Michael Jordan highlights and thinking 'I can do that'

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Preseason AP college basketball poll shows that the season is wide open

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Duke star Tre Jones threw such a beautiful pass that his teammate couldn't even believe he wound up with the ball

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