At first glance, it might seem like Baylor basketball does not have a large presence in the NBA. You don’t see top AAU players like Zion Williamson or Deandre Aston making a stop in Waco for a year before they head to the NBA.
That does not necessarily mean that Baylor should re-evaluate their recruiting, but the Baylor players that have made it to the NBA recently should give Baylor fans a reason to be thankful for the job that Scott Drew has done.
There are only four former Baylor players currently bouncing around the NBA, but each have had a tremendous and positive impact on their respective teams even if it does not necessarily show up in the box score.
Baylor Career (2014-2017): 12.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 blocks, 102 games
NBA Career: 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds
Johnathan Motley has had to take the tough road to the NBA. After going undrafted, he was picked up by the Dallas Mavericks in 2017. Motley paved a way for himself in the NBA but having some huge games in the NBA Summer League, including one where he made a game-winning shot to win the championship.
He showed out in the Summer League enough to earn him a two-way contract. This contract allows teams to use their players on their G-League affiliate teams as well as their NBA teams when they need them. In the G-League, Motley posted incredible numbers last season for the Texas Legends with averages of 22.2 points and 9.8 rebounds all while shooting 57% from the field. He was a force to be reckoned with.
The Mavericks even used him in 11 different games to help with their banged up roster. In those games, he averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in just 16 minutes per game and was a fan-favorite in Dallas. In the offseason, the Mavericks decided to move on from Motley as they could not find a spot in the rotation for him, so they traded Motley to the Los Angeles Clippers essentially for cash.
With the Los Angeles Clippers, Motley has averaged 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in just 7.4 minutes per game this season. The affiliate G-League team, the Agua Caliente Clippers, have utilized his two-way contract and enjoyed Motley’s dominant play with 25.6 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
If Motley can continue to improve in the G-League and post the numbers he has been putting up as of late, he could find himself as a key role player in an NBA rotation in the coming years.
Baylor Career (2012-2016): 10.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 129 games
NBA Career: 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Taurean Prince was one of the best players to ever come through Baylor in the Scott Drew era even though it took him a few years to reach his potential. He was a dominant force and proved to be more than capable in the NBA as well.
The Utah Jazz selected Prince with the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but they later traded away his rights to the Atlanta Hawks a few weeks later. Prince did not have the greatest rookie season, but he seemed to make the most out of his 17 minutes per game with his high-energy even though he only scored 5.7 points and grabbed 2.7 rebounds per game.
Prince’s second year with the Hawks was where he finally seemed to get the hang of it. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 30 minutes per game and started in all 82 games of the season for the Hawks. He had proven to be living up to his 12th overall selection in the draft with his ability to impact games on both sides of the ball. He has become a savvy player in the paint with great finishes around the rim and provides a lot of energy even on a very young team like the Hawks
This season, he has put up similar numbers with 13.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27 minutes per game. While the Hawks had hoped for some more improvement from Prince, the addition of a lot of new faces on their roster could have an impact on Prince’s development. He even has been replaced in the starting lineup in several games this season and will be going forward. There are many rumors around the NBA that Prince could be traded, which could benefit Prince in the long-term.
The Hawks are looking to create a team like Golden State with Trae Young at the helm and Prince just does not fit the mold of a team that wants to play that way. As a Baylor fan, I am hoping that Prince gets moved so that he can contribute to a team that will utilize his skills in a better system that suits him.
Baylor Career (2013-2015): 8.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals, 71 games
NBA Career: 120 games, 4.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Royce O’Neale, like Motley, went undrafted and made his way to the NBA the hard way. After the 2015 draft, he played overseas in Germany where he averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. In 2016, he secured a roster spot on the Golden State Warriors’ Summer League team but still did not find himself on an NBA roster. He played for Herbalife Gran Canaria in Spain that season before signing to play for a Lithuanian team in 2017. However, O’Neale found himself on the Utah Jazz’s Summer League roster and played well enough to get an NBA contract from the Jazz.
Last season, he proved himself to be worthy of that contract with his exceptional energy off the bench. He even scored a career high 19 points against Phoenix in February of 2018 that solidified his place in the NBA.
This season, he has become a pivotal part of the Jazz rotation with just over 18 minutes per game and his role has increased as the season has gone on. He even made his way into the starting lineup four a few games due to injuries. While he does not fill the stat sheet with only 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, his impact comes mostly from his defensive prowess and his threat to make threes while providing a spark off the bench. Just watching him play, you can tell that he is coached by Scott Drew just by the way he hustles to the ball and makes plays for his teammates.
Donovan Mitchell, one of the NBA’s up and coming stars that O’Neale plays alongside on the Jazz said, “People don’t know that Royce is one of the best shooters on the team. Tonight was a night that people got to see it,” Mitchell said after O’Neale scored 17 points and added 5 rebounds against the Lakers. “I told him, ‘Keep shooting it.’ They were kinda sagging off him at the beginning of the game, and I was like, ‘They’re not gonna keep doing that.’ … He’s improved his jumper tremendously, as a night like tonight showed.”
Clearly, O’Neale has the respect from his teammates and should see his role keep increasing if he continues to play like he has this season.
Baylor Career (2009-2010): 13.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 2.7 assists, 36 games
NBA Career: 363 games, 3.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks
Ekpe Udoh might have the most disappointing career of any of the players on this list, but his ability to stick around the NBA should not go unnoticed.
Udoh was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2010 by the Golden State Warriors after a great senior season with the Baylor Bears. He was picked 4 picks ahead of Paul George who I’m sure the Warriors still regret not taking.
To say the least, Udoh has bounced around the world of basketball since he was drafted. During the NBA lockout in 2011, Udoh signed with a team in Israel but returned to the Warriors after his short stint there. In 2012, Udoh was a part of a blockbuster trade where the Warriors traded Udoh, Kwame Brown, and Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. As a free agent in 2014, Udoh signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and never seemed to get the playing time he wanted.
In 2015, Udoh decided to take his talents overseas and signed with a Turkish team and was a huge leader for them. The team even won the Turkish Cup and made it to the EuroLeague championship before losing in overtime that year. He averaged 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in the EuroLeague that season,
The next season, the Turkish team won the EuroLeague championship and Udoh was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP.
After his success in Europe, Udoh decided to return to the NBA and was signed by the Utah Jazz in 2017. He has barely seen the floor in his time with the Jazz, but Udoh does show flashes of why he was once a 6th overall pick in the draft. His defense is still exceptional at his size and length and he is a known leader in a Jazz locker room full of young players.
While he never truly lived up to his 6th overall pick, he has always been a good role-player that NBA teams value and he found a tremendous amount of success overseas. I would not expect Udoh to be in the NBA for much longer, but it’s nice to see a Baylor Bear hang around and be valued by so many different teams around the world.
