Former Baylor great Udoh about ready to make his NBA mark

Ekpe Udoh smirked and was almost insulted by the question of whether he still keeps up with his former teammates and coaches and friends and fellow students at Baylor.

Come to think of it, it probably was a dumb question.

Once a Baylor Bear, always a Baylor Bear,'' Udoh said.

Right now, the 6-10 forward is just hoping to be a Golden State Warrior once.

He'll worry about the "always'' part after that.

Udoh, the No. 6 overall pick in the July draft, has yet to play for the Warriors after left wrist surgery in the summer. He's begun playing five-on-five with the Warriors, but is still a week or so away from playing, he said.

And he's eager to get to the next step in his learning process.

"Now that it's getting close, it's getting easier because I know it's getting close, especially with the teammates I have,'' he said. "You watch it all day and you pick up stuff like a sponge. But once you get out there, and you really have to actually put it into action, I haven't gotten use to that yet. The speed, especially.''

Warriors' coach Keith Smart said Udoh has shown everything they want to see so far, just not in games.

"Not having summer league or training camp, he's jumped back in now and is very aware of what we're doing,'' Smart said. "He doesn't look lost, which is important for a rookie. So he's been paying attention on the sidelines. He's shown he can shoot the 15-foot shot, which we didn't know he could. Now we just have to see how he does in real games.''