Ben Uzoh facts for kids
Toronto Raptors | ||||||||||||||
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Pro Player Personnel | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
Born | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
March 18, 1988 |||||||||||||
Nationality | American / Nigerian | |||||||||||||
High school | Warren (San Antonio, Texas) | |||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||||
Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | |||||||||||||
Career information | ||||||||||||||
College | Tulsa (2006–2010) | |||||||||||||
NBA Draft | 2010 / Undrafted | |||||||||||||
Pro career | 2010–2022 | |||||||||||||
League | NBA | |||||||||||||
Career history | ||||||||||||||
2010–2011 | New Jersey Nets | |||||||||||||
2011 | →Springfield Armor | |||||||||||||
2011 | Lokomotiv Kuban | |||||||||||||
2012 | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | |||||||||||||
2012 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||
2012 | Toronto Raptors | |||||||||||||
2012–2013 | Springfield Armor | |||||||||||||
2013–2014 | Tulsa 66ers | |||||||||||||
2014 | Canton Charge | |||||||||||||
2015 | Lagos Islanders | |||||||||||||
2017 | Okapi Aalstar | |||||||||||||
2018 | Caballeros de Culiacan | |||||||||||||
2019–2020 | Paris | |||||||||||||
2021 | Rivers Hoopers | |||||||||||||
2021 | Cape Town Tigers | |||||||||||||
2022 | Marinos | |||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Benjamin Chukwukelo Uzoh (born March 18, 1988) is a Nigerian-American former basketball player. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall and played as a point guard. Ben Uzoh played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors. He also played for many teams in North America, Europe, South America, and Africa. He represented his home country, Nigeria, in international basketball games.
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College Basketball Journey
Ben Uzoh played college basketball for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane team. He played with them for four years.
Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior |
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9.9 PPG | 15.6 PPG | 14.0 PPG | 15.3 PPG |
5.0 RPG | 5.4 RPG | 4.9 RPG | 4.7 RPG |
1.5 APG | 2.3 APG | 4.7 APG | 4.7 APG |
Uzoh is the only player in his school's history to be in the top 10 for points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. He was chosen for the All-Conference USA team three times. In his final year, he made the first team. He started 140 out of 141 games during his college career.
Ben Uzoh's Professional Career
After college, Ben Uzoh started his professional basketball journey.
Starting in the NBA
In 2010, Ben Uzoh was not chosen in the 2010 NBA draft. However, he signed a contract with the New Jersey Nets in the National Basketball Association. In January 2011, he got a guaranteed contract to play for the rest of the season. He also played briefly for the Springfield Armor in the NBA D-League in March 2011.
Playing in Russia and Canada
In October 2011, Uzoh signed with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia. But he only played two games before leaving the team. On March 27, 2012, he signed a short contract with the Toronto Raptors in the NBA. The Raptors then signed him for the rest of the 2011–2012 season. On April 26, he achieved a triple-double against the Nets. This was the first triple-double for a Raptors player in eleven years.
Moving Through D-League Teams
In October 2012, Uzoh joined the Denver Nuggets for their training camp. However, he did not make their final team. He then joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League. Soon after, in November 2012, he was traded to the Springfield Armor.
In October 2013, Uzoh was traded to the Tulsa 66ers. In January 2014, he was traded again to the Canton Charge. He was released by the Charge in March 2014 due to an injury that ended his season.
Playing Around the World
In 2015, Ben Uzoh went to Nigeria and played for the Lagos Islanders. In March 2017, he signed with the Belgian team Okapi Aalstar. In February 2018, he joined Caballeros de Culiacan in Mexico. He was chosen as an All-Star in that league.
In November 2019, Uzoh signed with Paris Basketball in France. However, in January 2020, they decided to part ways.
In April 2021, Uzoh signed with the Nigerian team Rivers Hoopers. He played in the first-ever Basketball Africa League (BAL) season. He scored the very first points in the BAL's opening game. He was also the first former NBA player to play in this new league. His team, the Hoopers, did not make it past the first round. Uzoh led his team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game.
In September 2021, Uzoh played for the South African team Cape Town Tigers. He helped them win their first national championship. In the championship game, he scored 22 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and made 5 assists.
In July 2022, he signed with Marinos in Venezuela.
Life After Playing Basketball
In October 2023, Ben Uzoh started a new role. He became a scout for his former team, the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A scout helps find new talented players for the team.
Playing for His Country: Nigeria
Ben Uzoh played for the Nigerian national basketball team. He represented Nigeria in the FIBA Men's African Championships in 2013, 2015, and 2017. He was also part of the Nigerian team that played in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Afrobasket 2013 | AfroBasket 2015 | Rio Olympics 2016 | Fiba World Cup 2019 |
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10.6 PPG | 5.6 RPG | 5.0 APG | 6.8 PPG |
8.1 PPG | 3.1 RPG | 3.0 APG | 2.2 APG |
7.4 PPG | 1.4 RPG | 2.6 APG | 1.6 RPG |
Career Statistics
Here are some of Ben Uzoh's basketball statistics.
NBA Regular Season Stats
Legend | |||||
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GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010–11 | New Jersey | 42 | 0 | 10.4 | .424 | .375 | .589 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
2011–12 | Cleveland | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | .400 | .000 | .000 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
2011–12 | Toronto | 16 | 8 | 22.3 | .351 | .000 | .579 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 4.8 |
Career | 60 | 8 | 13.5 | .395 | .333 | .587 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 4.0 |
BAL Season Stats
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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2021 | Rivers Hoopers | 3 | 3 | 29.1 | .559 | .000 | .667 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 14.7 |
Career | 3 | 3 | 29.1 | .559 | .000 | .667 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 14.7 |
See also
In Spanish: Ben Uzoh para niños