DePaul University Athletics
Udoka Ready to Celebrate a Lifetime Honor
2/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
(DePaulBlueDemons.com will be posting feature stories for the next two weeks on the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame inductees from the class of 2017. The Hall of Fame ceremony takes place Saturday, Feb. 25 at McGrath-Phillips Arena.)
CHICAGO - Mfon Udoka made quite an impact on the DePaul women's basketball program from 1994-98, leading the Blue Demons to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances including advancing to the second round in 1996 after helping spark the team to a conference USA regular-season title.
Udoka is second all-time in career free throw attempts, No. 4 in rebounding, No. 5 in free throws and rebounding average, No. 9 in field goal percentage, No. 11 all-time in blocks and No. 12 in scoring average.
Her career after DePaul led her to playing with the Detroit Shock, Houston Comets, and Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and for Nigeria in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
So, it is no surprise that on Feb. 25, Udoka is being inducted into the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame.
When Udoka made the decision to join the Blue Demon family, she moved from Portland, Ore.
"The move was a big environmental change but I remember on my recruiting trip, I was taken aback by the size of the city and the amount of people," Udoka said. "But I knew it was what I wanted."
Udoka played alongside what she describes as "two of the best players to ever go through the program" in DePaul Hall of Famers Latasha Byears and Kim Williams.
"I have to say watching them every day whether it was in a practice or a game was special," Udoka said. "I had to guard Latasha as a freshman and had a tough time every single day, but I think I learned a lot from the experience."
One of Udoka's best friends to this day is Carla Stone who was a senior when Udoka was a freshman and also one of Udoka's roommates.
"She was very tough and very strong and I had to guard her as well," Udoka said. "I would have to guard them and then go home and live with them. It was a very nice initiation for me.
"I had to really get out of my feelings and just get over whatever happened in practice. As a freshman, I tried to hold my own. I learned to leave things on the court and keep what was personal to myself."
The 6-foot-1 former Blue Demon forward has many games that she remembers from her career that still are important.
"My sophomore year, I had a career-high 29 points against Southern Mississippi," Udoka said. "It was a big game for us because they were pretty good in the conference as well. I had to guard a girl named Brandy Reed who was really good and she was more of a perimeter player. I remember that being the first test for me to guard one of the best players in the conference.
"Any game against Tennessee was a battle. And then my senior year, we beat a ranked Vanderbilt team. Our team wasn't that great that year so that was a big win for us. It was a career high 35-point game for me."
After a highly successful career at DePaul, Udoka made her way to the 2004 Olympics.
"It was the most amazing experience of my entire life," she said. "2003 was a very big year for me. It was the year I finally made it to the WNBA and it was also the first time I set foot in Africa. That was a unique cultural experience for me.
"Nigeria had never achieved any of the milestones we did before I got there. We got the first gold medal for the All-African game and the first club championship. And then we secured our Olympic ticket in December of 2003. It was a huge year for me basketball-wise"
Udoka was able to reach heights few others ever experience.
"You always dream of it and you never know if it will happen," she said. "You got to watch other sports and meet people from all over the world. And you got to play on the biggest stage in the whole world. Nigeria was not a basketball powerhouse, but we were able to win one game and that is still the only African team that has won a single game there.
"It means a lot, and I think for me, I didn't set out really thinking about statistics. We were just trying to win two games to make it to the medal round which we did not. But I turned around and I was leading the tournament in scoring and rebounding."
Out of all of the accomplishments Udoka has from her successful basketball career, she says that getting into the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame means the most to her.
"It is such an honor," she said. "I have been inducted into three Hall of Fames but this brings it full circle. It is a culmination of everybody and all of the coaches I have played for.
"When you start playing basketball, you don't think about these things. But when they happen, it is always a very nice surprise and it makes you think back and see what you have done and appreciate what it was."
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For information on the Feb. 25 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony including purchasing tickets, please contact Catherine Ramsey at cramsey@depaul.edu
