Benjamin Ndubuisi Eze (born February 8, 1981) is a Nigerian-Italian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He is a 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) tall center.

Professional career

Eze was brought from Nigeria to Russia during the 1998-99 season, where he played in 1 game with

Avtodor Saratov BC Avtodor (), commonly known as simply Avtodor and internationally as Avtodor Saratov, is a Russian professional basketball club based in Saratov. It plays in the VTB United League, the highest level of Russian basketball. In early 2022, after ...

. After leaving Russia, Eze moved to the United States and signed to play with the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

Cardinals. However, Eze was declared ineligible because of the game in Russia for the 1999-00 basketball year. He then transferred to the

College of Southern Idaho College of Southern Idaho (CSI) is a public community college in Twin Falls, Idaho. It also has off-campus programs in Jerome, Hailey, Burley and Gooding. Together with the College of Eastern Idaho, College of Western Idaho and North Ida ...

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

, where he averaged 7.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He declared himself eligible for the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001, in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizar ...

but went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. In 2011, he signed with

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. On February 6, 2014, he signed with

Dinamo Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the 2018–19 European ...

Nigerian national team

Eze represented

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the

2005 FIBA Africa Championship The 2005 FIBA Africa Championship was the 23rd FIBA Africa Championship, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Algeria from August 15 to 24 2005 and took ...

, where Nigeria finished in third place, qualifying for the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

. Eze did not join the Nigerian team at the World Championship.

References

External links

Euroleague.net Profile

Eurobasket.com Profile

1981 births Living people BC Avtodor players BC Khimki players Centers (basketball) Dinamo Sassari players Italian men's basketball players KD Slovan players Lega Basket Serie A players Mens Sana Basket players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in Italy Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Nigerian expatriates in Russia Nigerian men's basketball players Olimpia Milano players Power forwards Southern Idaho Golden Eagles men's basketball players Viola Reggio Calabria players Nigeria men's national basketball team players 21st-century Italian sportsmen 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen {{Nigeria-basketball-bio-stub