Azubuike (ankle) is out Friday against the Hornets. The Warriors ought to be an electrifying affair for both casuals and die-hards. The surgery was performed in Indianapolis by foot and ankle specialist Dr. David Porter in consultation with Jazz team physician Dr. Travis Maak. Fifteen years ago today, Kelenna Azubuike made his Golden State Warriors debut in a win over the Charlotte Hornets. The shimmering Bay Lights turn off Sunday night as the effort to raise $11 million to fund a bigger, better version is only partway there. [2] In 2012, he caught the attention of recruiters with Basketball Without Borders and was offered a scholarship to play basketball in the United States. Endure it, and think what could have been, had the Warriors not put the universally beloved Jim Barnett out to pasture. Jim has been a fixture on our broadcast team for over three decades and has served as a comforting and trusted voice for our fans during several different eras of Warriors basketball, Welts said. As shambolic as the broadcasts have been these Barnett-less years, were now used to a somewhat unorthodox approach. A huge thank you to the NBC Sports Bay Area for preparing me for this, said Azubuike, who has done color commentary for multiple media outlets. What ever happened to Kelenna Azubuike? You dont have to put on makeup.. Youll be surprised by the new Forbes rankings, Stephen Curry produces high-end movie, lowbrow TV, How Curry's 3-point shooting changed the game. As Barnett once said, the key to a successful career announcing games is talking about fundamentals and also being able to speak the Kings English. Sounds like hes very clearly describing Baron Davis. Wikipedia, University of KansasUdoka Azubuike / College (20162020)The University of Kansas is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. [4]In 2007-08, he averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Two adults who talk on television for a living should know better than to mock the accent of a player from a different country, as. [5] And now Im going to work radio. Its always a minorly uplifting sight when the camera fleetingly catches him calling Warriors games. A lingering knee injury has forced former Cat Kelenna Azubuike into an early retirement from basketball. With a year of NBA experience under his belt, Azubuike has quickly developed into a legitimate NBA shooting guard, displaying a much more well rounded skill set than he did earlier in his career. [20] Since then, he has been assigned to announce 11 of the 19 NBA D-League games produced by NBA TV in 2016. pic.twitter.com/17FXszxmEe, Just a few minutes later, Campazzo was arguing a foul call when Fitzgerald said on the broadcast, Campazzo likes to get scrappy and then look aggrieved all the time., Azubuike chimed in, adding, See, this is how you lose your credibility. I was wronged!, The incident came just a week after Rivers had a pair of fans removed from aNuggets-Thunder game in Oklahoma City,after he said they were talking about [his] family the whole night.. The most notable thing Azubuike did as a Knick was sell his No. Hes fairly knowledgeable about the game, reasonably prepared, generally knows how to pronounce last names and always seems to remember if someone is from one of the Congos. Azubuike covered Warrior's games after he joined NBC Sports Bay Area in 2015. "The hope is that he can possibly help us this year. That whole dance was an awkward misfire on the part of the Light Years Brain Trust, and even a few years later, leaves a not entirely un-sour taste in Dub Nations collective mouth. His presence will add a new dimension to our TV broadcasts and we are thrilled with the addition., Barnett said of Azubuike, I really mean this: Im so happy its Kelenna and not someone else. During Mondays game against the Washington Wizards, Azubuike even went so far as to describe Steph Curry as a big-time player. I dont know, man. Not exactly my problem. Kelenna David Azubuike (born December 16, 1983) is an English/American former professional basketball player. Its more akin to Lacob-ism, and before that, Cohan-ism. His father, Fabian, was a police officer, and his mother, Florence, was a middle school teacher. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the leagues Western Conference, Northwest Division. Green was signed out of free agency to a multi-year contract. [6] Playing for Fort Worth of the Development League again, Azubuike averaged 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.17 steals, and a league-best 26.0 points in 37.7 minutes per contest, shooting 51.4% from the field and 48.5% from three-point range over twelve games. The recently passed SECURE 2.0 Act is giving college savers more time to learn the benefits of compound interest. [3] On January 28, 2016, he announced his choice to play college basketball at the University of Kansas.[11]. Azubuike called himself a basketball junkie who loves talking about the game. [17] This high percentage was in part due to the majority of his field goals being slam dunks, which typically have a higher completion percentage than jump shots or layups. Azubuike, 35, has spent the last four seasons mostly as a studio analyst at NBC Sports Bay Area while also occasionally providing analysis on radio alongside Roye. Kelenna Azubuike is a professional basketball player currently working at NBC Sports Bay Area as the Golden State Warriors television analyst. 270lbsUdoka Azubuike / Weight [2] Azubuike lost his father to an undiagnosed disease at the age of 10. On July 7, the Warriors re-signed him. A broadcaster obviously shouldnt have noticeable loathing for the team whose games they call. Rivers and the Nuggets (17-16) host the Warriors on Thursday. Rivers, the son of veteran coach Doc Rivers . Lets not forget how he got here in the first place! Kelenna Azubuike talks life after basketball. It gets Jessica Alba back in the building. Sign up for the He currently handles San Francisco 49ers preseason broadcasts and served as the play-by-play voice for the Arena Football Leagues San Jose SaberCats, an organization which is now defunct. Davis, despite his relatively short stint in the Bay Area, is very much beloved. [32] On February 22, 2020, Azubuike scored 23 points and had a career-high 19 rebounds in a 6461 win over top-ranked Baylor. Trivia. Analytics cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously. Kelenna and Rona exchanged their vows in a traditional Christian wedding ceremony. While being a two-way player yet he called me overpaid?, Seems the Warriors announcers arent too fond of Austin Rivers pic.twitter.com/KL2yIIYfs0. Once they do that, then anything can happen.. Curry and Draymond Green are the only members of the now-defunct Hamptons Five slated to start the season in the lineup. Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. 7 off his back . [2]He returned to the Flyers, where he averaged 26 points and 5 rebounds, while leading the D-League in scoring and ranking third in three-point field goal percentage.[3]. Ridiculous stuff. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. Of course, it must be said that Barnett would not approve of this column. Former Golden State Warriors Kelenna Azubuike is introduced during Warriors' NBA game against Sacramento Kings at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, February 21, 2019. This is cause for celebration. [17] On 28 June 2012, during the 2012 NBA Draft, Azubuike was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. For sure unprofessional., The Golden State Warriors broadcasters need to honestly be stopped. Pairing Barnett and Davis would automatically catapult the Warriors broadcasting team to must-listen TV, leapfrogging mere respectability on their journey back from the dregs. And though Mr. Boom Dizzle opted out in 2008 and tried to start a super-team with Elton Brand in Los Angeles (weird sentence! He was later included in Golden State's sign-and-trade acquisition of David Lee from the New York Knicks in the summer of 2010, but Azubuike never played a game with the Knicks and was released Feb. 28, 2011. Barnetts replacement, Azubuike, is a likeable guy (and Ive always admired his biceps) and also a competent in-studio analyst, but the synergy isnt there. He finished the season averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Kroichick writes features on the Warriors during the NBA season, and various other topics - ranging from the 49ers/NFL and major-league baseball to college football and basketball - the rest of the year. His then assistant coach Harry Coxsome and his wife Donna took care of him and soon became his legal guardians. Remove the outlier, and he averaged 9.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.8 minutes per game in the previous 5 contests. 4 Kansas beats Dayton 90-84 in overtime for Maui title", "Kansas snaps Baylor's Big 12-record win streak", "Men's Basketball All-Big 12 Awards Announced", "Udoka Azubuike named defensive player of the year by NABC", "NBC Sports College Basketball All-American Teams". Kelenna Azubuike is a Basketball Player, zodiac sign: Sagittarius. Im not a bean counter, Im a dreamer. Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images. Hes too noble for this kind of skullduggery. A 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) center/forward from Seton Hall University, Fitzgerald played two seasons in the Basketball Association of America as a member of the Toronto Huskies, New York Knicks, and Rochester Royals. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. Azubuike, 35, will partner with play-by-play broadcaster Bob Fitzgerald on TV. But much like modern basketball, lets consider this a position-less broadcasting team. Azubuike said in a fake accent, as he and his partner chuckled. Sorry fans of FDRs fireside chats, he just is. "3 grand, that's it?" We think Kelenna is one of the bright, young stars in the broadcasting business, Warriors President Rick Welts said in a statement. From Sleepy Floyds incredible playoff performance in 1987 to our most recent stretch that has included three championships and five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals, his outstanding work has been an everyday staple on the airwaves., [RELATED: Where Livingston wants to end career after Warriors release]. 7 jersey to Carmelo Anthony. On 17 November 2009, it was announced that Azubuike would miss the rest of the 200910 season after tearing his right patellar tendon in a game at the Milwaukee Bucks. Theres a better way to live. Unlike past years, Lucia did not include any analysis and/or fan commentary with the rankings, so we don't know exactly what kind of gripes fans had against the work of Fitzgerald and Azubuike. [1] He eventually became an All-State selection, averaging 39.1 points and 13.3 rebounds and leading his team to the Class 4A State Championship Game as a senior. Why did Kelenna Azubuike retire? Hes found a workaround from being phased out, still plies his wisdom and his trademark avuncular wit on the radio side of things. If Barnett made the perpetually dungeon-bound Warriors bearable from the sidelines, it was Davis who restored pride to the franchise, gave them a jolt of renewed life when they needed it most, while briefly foreshadowing an era of dominance. [21] Various of these games have been broadcast by ESPNU. He holds both Nigerian and US citizenship; his application for British citizenship was turned down in December 2007 due to problems with the immigration status of his parents at the time of his birth.[1]. "Utah Jazz take Kansas center Udoka Azubuike at No. Rounding up all the Warriors and NBA news from around the web. He is moving to the radio booth to team up with longtime radio voice Tim Roye on 95.7 FM The Game. In the studio, we talk about what we think is going to happen (in Warriors Pregame), or our interpretation of what has happened (in Warriors Postgame). It ended badly, A $200M bike bridge tantalized this Bay Area city. [5] Seemed to work out alright., Azubuike asked, Are you saying there was some nepotism there? to which Fitzgerald said, Im just saying, if youre gonna give the money, might as well give it to your kid., Rivers continued to defend himself in his comment, writing, Do u know how many guys in league made more than me while not doing half as much?! 8 small forward and the No. Azubuike spent five years in the NBA (averaging 14.4 pts a game in 2008-2009) before he had to hang up his sneakers. Something went wrong. Its altogether too simple to decry him as a homer. As I mentioned, Azubuike was a solid in-studio analyst. Wikipedia. Kelenna tells the story of Melo buying his jersey off him on the Knicks pic.twitter.com/mVUEl6LATm. [1], In April 2005, Azubuike announced his plans to enter the draft after his junior year, signing with agent Joel Bell and ending his college eligibility. Later, when Azubuike moved into broadcasting, one of his first calls was to Barnett. [23], Azubuike has three siblings: Nonzo, Nesochi and Adaeze. Barnett, 75, has on numerous occasions worked with Roye on radio, usually in postseason games on national TV. Azubuike takes the job at a fascinating point in Warriors history. After the Warriors matched a multi-year contract offer from the Clippers in the summer of 2008 - perhaps out of anger about the Baron Davis signing - Azubuike started nearly the entire 2008-9 season, averaging 14.4 points per game and making 44.8% of his three-pointers. Warriors TV announcers Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike targeted the Denver . [2] Playing for Victory Christian High School, Azubuike led his team to the state title as a sophomore. 1 college football recruit. He got a big contract extension when, oh wait, his dad was the coach, said Fitzgerald. Fifteen years ago today, Kelenna Azubuike made his Golden State Warriors debut in a win over the Charlotte Hornets. A daily roundup of Golden State Warriors news from Golden State of Mind, By submitting your email, you agree to our, This date in Warriors history: Kelenna Azubuike debuts. [1] Azubuike finished his prep career with 3,530 points, 89 points short of the all-time state scoring mark. Alex Siquig (@ThomasAwful on Twitter) is a Bay Area expat based in Baltimore who still stays up way too late to watch Golden State play. He instigated it. [12], On 9 July 2010, Azubuike was traded to the New York Knicks along with Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf and a future second-round pick in a sign and trade deal for David Lee. or is he playing somewhere else? Golden State, fresh off five consecutive NBA Finals appearances and three championships, will move across the bay next season to the new Chase Center in San Francisco. When the Warriors make their regular-season debut at Chase Center in October, there will be plenty of new faces, beginning with the teams roster. [22], He joined NBC Sports Bay Area in 2015, covering Warriors games as a studio analyst for the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. Both Azubuike and Barnett will travel with the team for road games. As part of his comeback, he was assigned to the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. [4]Azubuike was selected to play in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Boys Game,[5] Jordan Brand Classic,[6] and Nike Hoop Summit. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fitzgeralds homerism isnt the genuine, charming if sort of silly homerism of a drunk but passionate fan. He played college basketball at the University of Kentucky from 2002 to 2005. . His former partner, Fitzgerald, long a burr in the collective saddles of a vocal segment of Warriors fandom, is by contrast mostly a goofy propagandist. [1] His father, Fabian, was a police officer, and his mother, Florence, was a middle school teacher. But Kelena's an analyst for the Warriors local broadcast station now, offers some pretty good insight. I really couldn't find much and was wondering if I'm missing something? Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies. Azubuike averaged 10.5 points during his career. [25] On January 5, 2019, Azubuike injured his wrist during practice. When the Golden State Warriors are rolling, they're one of the leagues biggest draws. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage) / WireImage. [16] His field goal percentage broke the single-season record for Kansas and the Big 12 Conference. Rona Azubuike is the wife of former professional basketball player and sports analyst Kelenna Azubuike. Azubuike Emanuel Egwuekwe (born 16 July 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Rivers United as a centre back. Unfortunately for him, injury is the reason as he still cannot participate (at) what would be the NBA combine or workouts for the NBA teams. The Warriors' broadcast team of Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike have drawn ire from off-hand remarks during Tuesday night's Golden State-Denver broadcast. Draymond Green (left) is introduced by Warriors analyst Jim Barnett at a press conference held to announce the re-signing of Green at the Warriors team practice facility in Oakland, California, on Thursday, July 9, 2015. The Golden State Warriors signed him for four years worth $7 Million. Golden State included him in the David Lee trade in 2010, but he didnt play a game for the New York Knicks. Oops. Absolute legend. Austin Rivers is not happy with comments that the Golden State Warriors' broadcasting team made on Tuesday night. [2] His parents were doctors and had moved to London for work. On July 17, 2008, Azubuike signed an offer sheet with the Clippers of a three-year, $9 million contract , with Golden State having seven days to match it.