Mfon Sunday Udoka (born June 16, 1976) is a Nigerian-American former 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 who is an assistant coach for the

Nigeria women's national basketball team The Nigeria women's national basketball team, also known as D'Tigeress, represents Nigeria in international women's basketball competition, and are regulated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Nigeria. Nig ...

, the D'Tigress. Born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, Udoka graduated from

Benson Polytechnic High School Benson Polytechnic High School is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. It is temporarily located in Portland's Lents neighborhood while a renovation project is underway at its campus in the Central Eastside c ...

(1994) in Portland before attending

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

in Chicago, Illinois from 1994 to 1998. She is the older sister of coach and former NBA player Ime Udoka.

1998-2003

After leaving DePaul in 1998, Udoka signed with the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

of the WNBA. With Detroit, she appeared in three games. Udoka left the U.S. following the 1998 season, moving to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

for the 1998–99 season. She returned to school to complete her degree in Communications in 2000, and also rehabilitated her ACL injury she suffered in the summer of 1999. In 2001, she slowly resumed her basketball career with the Birmingham Power of the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The league ...

. Following the end of the 2001 NWBL season, Udoka again left the U.S., moving to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, where she played briefly with Electra Ramat HaSharon before moving to compete with Harbin in China for the 2002 season. For the 2003 season, Udoka went back to Harbin before playing with the Chicago Blaze, again of the NWBL. In 2003, she was invited to the Houston Comets training camp and made the roster as a free agent.

2003-2004

Taking several years away from the WNBA, Udoka returned in 2003 with the

Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...

. With the Comets, she played in 25 games and started 3 of them, averaging 3.2 points per game in 10 minutes. Udoka signed with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was fou ...

for the short remainder of the 2004 WNBA season, after competing for Nigeria in the Athens Olympics, but played in only 3 games.

2004-2007

After leaving Los Angeles, Udoka moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

(2004), then the Athens Summer Olympics and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

(2005). She played in Mersin, Turkey for the second half of the 2006 season and spent a short time with Tarbes Gespe Bigorre of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Ligue Féminine de Basketball The Ligue Féminine de Basketball (LFB; ''Women's Basketball League'') is the top women's French professional basketball league. Champions * precedes the score of the team playing at home. Clubs Current season (2021–22) * Union Féminine ...

in 2007.

International competitions

Udoka led the

to the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. At the Olympics, she was second in the tournament in scoring and rebounding but Nigeria finished 11th out of 12 teams. They became the first African team to ever win a game at the Olympics. Udoka also led Nigeria at the

2006 FIBA World Championship for Women The 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women took place in Brazil from September 12 to September 23, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Confederação Brasileira de Basketball, the Brazilian national fe ...

, where Nigeria finished in last (16th) place. In May 2011, Udoka was named as the new Assistant Coach for the

D'Tigress as they prepare for the African Nations Cup in Mali and the All Africa Games.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Udoka, Mfon 1982 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel Nigerian women's basketball players Nigerian women's basketball coaches American basketball players of Nigerian descent Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Portland, Oregon Benson Polytechnic High School alumni DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball players Detroit Shock players Houston Comets players Los Angeles Sparks players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in France Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Israel Nigerian expatriate basketball people in China Olympic basketball players for Nigeria Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Tarbes Gespe Bigorre players African Games silver medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in basketball African Games gold medalists for Nigeria Heilongjiang Dragons players American expatriate basketball people in China Competitors at the 2003 All-Africa Games African Americans in Oregon Forwards (basketball) Nigerian women's national basketball team players