Udonis Haslem

[edit] Biography

Udonis Johneal Haslem (born June 9 1980 in Miami, Florida) is a professional basketball player currently with the Miami Heat of the NBA. For the 2005-2006 season, he is listed as 6 ft 8 in and 235 lb.

[edit] College career

Haslem attended the University of Florida, majoring in leisure service management. A starting center for four years, he was part of the Billy Donovan recruiting class that put Florida Gators basketball on the map, coming in with another NBA player, Mike Miller. Fans would yell the letter "U" in unison after his big plays. His sophomore season saw the team advance in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game. The team made the NCAA tournament all four years he was with the team, the first time in the institution's history.

[edit] NBA career

After leaving Florida in 2002, with his weight in excess of 300 pounds and having been a late-preseason roster cut with the Atlanta Hawks, Haslem signed with Chalon Sur-Soane, a professional team in France. While averaging 16.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, Haslem also managed to lose 70 pounds over the course of that year, which resulted in him getting a spot in the NBA summer leagues.

He was signed by the Miami Heat as an undrafted rookie in 2003. As a rookie, he backed up Brian Grant and provided rebounding and defense. He was named to the All-NBA rookie second team, and played in the rookie challenge during All-Star weekend. He assumed the starting power forward position in 2004 after teammate Brian Grant was part of a package that was shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that brought superstar center Shaquille O'Neal back to Florida. He was helpful yet again, being a tough rebounder and developing an effective 15 foot jump-shot. He has been called a perfect complement to O'Neal's style of play, and was critical in the Heat's playoff run to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Following the season his two-year contract was renewed after upping his rookie averages of 7.3 points and 6.3 rebounds to 10.9 and 9.1 in his second season. In 2005-2006, he again was the starting power forward. Despite increased pressure from O'Neal battling injuries and the acquisition of 3-time All-Star Antoine Walker, Haslem retained the starting spot.

Haslem won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006, scoring 17 points in the title-clinching game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks.

On Friday, November 10, 2006, Haslem scored a career-high 28 points on 10-for-14 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in a 113-106 win over the Nets.

[edit] Personal

Haslem's nickname is "U.D.", the first two letters of his name. He is the son of a stand-out Miami High School Basketball Star, Johnnie Haslem. He has an eight-year old son Kedonis and has three sisters and two brothers (his late brother, Samuel Wooten, died of cancer in 1999).

[edit] Statistics

<stats> Player=Udonis Haslem Sport=NBA </stats>

[edit] References

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