Ebuka Rufus Izundu (born 28 June 1996) is a Nigerian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for FMP of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

and the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

. Izundu played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

Early life and high school career

Izundu was born and brought up in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria. He grew up playing

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and began playing basketball at age 16 due to his height. Izundu played basketball for Victory Christian Center School in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

for two years. As a senior, he averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks per game. Izundu also played soccer and ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

in high school. On 12 November 2014, he committed to play

for

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. However, he reopened his recruitment after the program parted ways with head coach

Alan Major Alan M. Major (born June 21, 1968) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of Patriots BBC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). He was the head coach at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 2010 to 2015. Before bein ...

. On 13 May 2015, Izundu committed to Miami (Florida).

College career

Izundu played four years of college basketball for Miami, mostly coming off the bench until his senior season. As a sophomore, Izundu averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a junior. On 13 November 2018, he posted career-highs of 22 points and 18 rebounds in a 96–58 win over

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

. As a senior, Izundu started in all 32 games and averaged 10.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, shooting a school-record 65.3 percent from the field.

Professional career

Izundu joined the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

for

2019 NBA Summer League The 2019 NBA Summer League was held at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It began on July 5 and ended on July 15. All 30 teams and two national teams, China and Croat ...

and recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds in his finale, an 88–87 loss to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. On 10 August 2019, Izundu signed a two-year contract with

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. On 27 October, he scored a season-high 11 points in an 86–81 victory over

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

. Izundu parted ways with Real Betis on 26 April 2020 and finished the season averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game. On July 17, 2020, he has signed with

SIG Strasbourg Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and i ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. In January 2021, Izundu signed for Serbian team FMP. On July 14, 2021, he signed a two-year contract extension with FMP.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Izundu, Ebuka 1996 births Living people ABA League players Basketball League of Serbia players Centers (basketball) KK FMP players Miami Hurricanes men's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in France Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Spain Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian men's basketball players Real Betis Baloncesto players SIG Basket players Sportspeople from Lagos 21st-century Nigerian people