RICHMOND, Ky. – YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE, and former Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball player John Ukomadu is proving it in the NBA G League.
Ukomadu, who played two seasons with the Colonels from 2022 to 2024, recently wrapped up his first season with the Motor City Cruise.
The Southfield, Michigan native earned a spot on the Cruise roster, the G League affiliate of his home state Detroit Pistons, by participating in a tryout in September that included 80 players. He is only the second player in franchise history to participate in a tryout and make the opening night roster.
In 41 games, including eight starts, he averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 53% from the field and 46% from 3-point range. After hitting only 14 three-pointers in two seasons at EKU, Ukomadu worked hard to improve that aspect of his game and connected on 56-of-122 this season in the G League.
While seeing Ukomadu knock down three’s might come as a surprise to Colonel fans, it’s certainly not a surprise that in February Ukomadu became the first-ever Motor City player to be participate in the G League Slam Dunk Contest, held during NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco. He entertained the EKU faithful for two seasons with his high flying dunks and then finished second in the 2024 College Slam Dunk Championship at the Final Four in Phoenix.
On Feb. 20 against the Birmingham Squadron, Ukomadu set season-highs with 26 points, six 3-pointers and nine rebounds. He went 6-for-11 from behind the arc. He played a season-high 37 minutes in his first start of the season, on Jan. 23 against the Wisconsin Herd. Ukomadu finished with three steals in a game three times during the season and blocked a season-best four shots on March 14 against the Capital City Go-Go.
Ukomadu also had 19 points against the Windy City Bulls (March 29), 18 points against the Raptors 905 (March 21) and 18 points against the South Bay Lakers (March 10). He out-scored Bronny James 18-16 against the Lakers.
Over the final 10 games of the season, Ukomadu averaged 13.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals while starting five times.
As a senior at EKU, Ukomadu appeared in 30 games for the Colonels in 2023-24 and averaged 5.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
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