{"id":20053,"date":"2017-07-14T09:51:25","date_gmt":"2017-07-14T14:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/?p=20053"},"modified":"2017-07-21T15:50:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T20:50:42","slug":"how-this-baylor-bear-became-turkeys-most-popular-american-hoops-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/2017\/07\/how-this-baylor-bear-became-turkeys-most-popular-american-hoops-star\/","title":{"rendered":"How this Baylor Bear became Turkey’s most popular American hoops star"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Epke<\/p>\n

In 2015, after five years in the NBA, former Baylor men’s basketball star Ekpe Udoh found himself in an unusual place: Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoo, that was brutal,\u201d Udoh told The New York Times<\/a><\/em> in a must-read feature. \u201cI probably didn\u2019t accept it until January, February that I was overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you can imagine, it wasn\u2019t the easiest transition for Udoh, who grew up in Oklahoma. It\u2019s a jarring experience to suddenly be thousands of miles from friends and family, submerged in a brand new culture, and learning a completely foreign language. Yet here he was, playing center for Turkey’s leading club, Fenerbahce.<\/p>\n

[READ The New York Times<\/em>\u2019 feature\u00a0on Udoh<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n

For many Americans playing overseas, the experience is really just another job. But after coming to grips with his situation,\u00a0Udoh chose instead to fully embrace the opportunity. For the past two years, he’s immersed himself in Turkish culture. He started\u00a0a photo blog of his favorite Istanbul restaurants. Last November, he sent his virtual book club the Turkish classic, \u201cMadonna in a Fur Coat.\u201d He’s sent local high school seniors a good-luck message for their exams. And after seeing the image of the country\u2019s first president almost everywhere he looked, he began his own personal \u201cAtaturk project\u201d to learn\u00a0all about the man his fans hold so dear.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Udoh was excelling on the court<\/a>. Over the last two years, he\u00a0helped lead his\u00a0team to\u00a0two Turkish national titles and the 2016-17 Euroleague championship (the world\u2019s most competitive league outside the United States), winning Euroleague Final Four MVP honors in the process.<\/p>\n