He left a KU ticket for his brother ... then saw him for the first time in 8 years
Udoka Azubuike received a text from his brother on Sunday: “I’m coming to watch you play.”
The Kansas senior center admitted that he didn’t know what to think at first; he’d last seen older sibling Chima Azuonwu about eight years ago in Nigeria.
“I thought he was just messing around,” Azubuike said. “ ... I actually put him on the ticket list, but I didn’t think I was going to see him.”
That made the pregame moment ahead of KU’s 83-58 home victory over Oklahoma State all the more special.
Azuonwu made it to the game, stepping onto the court during shootaround. Azubuike came over immediately to shake his hand before the two shared an embrace.
“It’s just this thing that, you haven’t seen someone in a long time,” Azuonwu said. “All of a sudden, you’re just like shocked and you are very happy, so excited to come see him.”
Azuonwu, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, said he has kept up with Azubuike from afar. The two talk often, he says, and he catches most of KU’s games on ESPN.
This week, though, he decided it was time to pay Azubuike a visit. Before Monday, he’d never seen his brother play basketball in person.
“It means a lot,” Azubuike said. “I’m so happy that he was able to witness — coming in — and saw me play. It was really nice.”
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Sign upAzuonwu, 23, knows some basketball of his own. He moved to the United States before Azubuike, eventually playing some in college for Tennessee State before graduating with a criminal justice degree.
On Tennessee State’s roster page, Azuonwu was listed at 6-11 and 290 pounds.
The two brothers have never played basketball against each other, but Azuonwu said he “would love to if I had an opportunity, yes.”
Distance kept them apart in previous years too. Azuonwu wasn’t able to connect when he was in Tennessee and Azubuike was playing high school basketball in Florida.
“I already know that he’s a beast,” Azuonwu said. “He goes in the paint hard, and he plays really good basketball. He’s tough to guard, you know. I’m encouraging him to continue to put in that work.”
Azuonwu, who sat in section 15 of Allen Fieldhouse with other KU players’ families, left impressed by his brother’s performance. Azubuike had 19 points and 16 rebounds in 26 minutes against Oklahoma State.
The two walked together to the locker room following Azubuike’s on-court postgame interview. Azuonwu wrapped his left arm around Azubuike’s shoulder while speaking to him.
“He was congratulating me. He was really proud of me,” Azubuike said. “That’s kind of like a brother moment.”
KU coach Bill Self also enjoyed the family interaction, saying he got to speak to Azuonwu both before and after the win.
“I told Doke right before we went out there, I said, ‘Doke, I’m glad your brother’s here, but I just met him, and he’s a lot better looking than you are. But maybe you’ll grow into it, I don’t know,’” Self said with a laugh. “But he’s a big dude too. That was cool to see. You could tell that they were happy to see each other.”
After being there in person Monday, Azuonwu already was thinking about ways to attend more KU games in the future.
“I told him, ‘Good job, man,’” Azuonwu said. “’You’re balling hard.’”
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
