Here's a nice and long article on Ebi that is almost a year old. His attitude should remind you of someone we know pretty well.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/news/2002/07/16/peach_jam/
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- Ndudi Ebi has LeBron James on the brain.
That alone doesn’t really make Ebi any different than anyone else who closely follows the talent base comprising the future of basketball, both college and professional.
Except that Ebi is different. Most 18-year-olds don’t stand 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-plus wingspan -- his fingertips almost touch his knees while standing up straight -- and have coaches such as Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Barnes and Mike Davis waiting with bated breath to find out where he’ll go to college.
Ebi (his full name is pronounced “IN-dee EE-bee”) is the top-rated player at the Nike Peach Jam AAU basketball tournament, but that’s only because James isn’t here.
A senior-to-be at Houston’s Westbury Christian High School, Ebi is widely regarded as the second-best high school player in the country. Second to -- you guessed it -- James, the Akron, Ohio, phenom dubbed The Chosen One by Sports Illustrated. "King James," as he’s also known, is so far ahead of the rest of his class that he was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft even before he attended his junior prom at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School.
James gets all the ink in the 2002-03 senior class, and Ebi nearly has gone blind from staring at his rival’s name in lights.
“Everywhere I look, his name is above mine,” Ebi said. “I just have to do my thing to get my name above his.”
While it’s known that James never will play college ball -- Nike and Adidas are already in a multimillion dollar bidding war over James’ endorsement rights -- Ebi said he intends to further his education. He’s just not saying where yet. He’s been offered scholarships “from everyone,” he said, a list that includes his top five schools: Arizona, Duke, Texas, Indiana and North Carolina.
Aside from all of the college coaches in attendance, Ebi is the celebrity to see at the Peach Jam, where his Houston Hoops team is 5-1 after advancing to Friday’s championship game. Ebi is averaging 20.3 points (mostly dunks and soft, 10-foot jumpers -- though he did mix in four 3-pointers on eight attempts), 10.8 rebounds and an unfair amount of blocks per game. Unofficially, he has blocked 27 shots (it’s safe to say the volunteer statisticians missed some) and that doesn’t count the airballs and bricks thrown up by intimidated opponents who must feel like they are lofting shots over a skyscraper.
Ebi’s undoubtedly the tournament’s best. All eyes are glued to his smooth, fundamentally sound game. Reporters, scouts and assorted fans form a line to get close to Ebi minutes after each game. But it’s not nearly enough for him.
He won’t come right out and say it, but Ebi is running the mercury red with LeBron James fever. Take, for example, Ebi’s African name, given to him by his Nigerian parents. When asked if his name translated to anything in English, Ebi replied, “No, it doesn’t. But if it did, I think it should mean, ‘The Chosen One.’”
The Chosen One?
“I just think I’m special,” Ebi said. “I’m one of a kind and I feel that’s what it should mean.”
Yes, Ebi has seen the cover of Sports Illustrated that crowns James as king.
“That’s an interesting comment from a pretty bright kid,” said TheInsiderHoops.com’s Dave Telep, who has Ebi ranked right behind James like everyone else. “But there’s only one guy on the planet right now besides Kobe Bryant who is being offered $20 million shoe contracts.”
If Ebi’s suffering from an identity crisis, it’s a shame. He’s better than 99.9 percent of the high schoolers on the planet, and his future couldn’t be brighter.
One assistant coach for a major college program at the Peach Jam said Ebi reminded him of a young, ferocious Kenyon Martin with more skill.
“I saw Kwame Brown [play in high school]. I saw Darius Miles. Ebi’s better than them both,” the assistant said. “If he put his name in the [2003] draft, he’d go top 10.”
Talking to Ebi, however, a top-10 selection wouldn’t be good enough if James goes No. 1.
Ebi wears his passion for wanting to be the best -- better than James -- on his chest for the world to see, and he brought it with him to Colorado Springs, Colo., in late June for the U.S. Youth Development Festival.
Ebi knew full well that James broke the scoring record at the same evaluation camp as a rising junior in 2001 with a five-game average of 24.0 points. His mission was to shatter the mark. He did, averaging 27.8 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
“I knew I was going to break the record,” Ebi said. “I wanted to have my name above his.”
A broken wrist kept James out of the Colorado Springs festival this year, just as it has for all of this summer’s other tournaments and camps. Barring any other injuries, however, both Ebi and James should be healthy and ready to go head to head in next April’s McDonald’s All-American game in Cleveland.
Ebi, for one, can’t wait.
“In April,” he said, “we’re just going to have to see who’s No. 1.”
