Ron Dorsey on Cairns “almost” winning the title in 2011 and Melbourne’s brutal 2012 season
February 2, 2023
Ayinde Ubaka
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 9/02/85
- Place of Birth: San Francisco, California (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 193
- Weight (KG): 93
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: California (2003–2007)
- NBL DEBUT: 25/09/09
- AGE AT DEBUT: 24
- LAST NBL GAME: 16/11/13
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 28
- NBL History: Gold Coast 2010 | Cairns 2011 | Melbourne 2012, 2014 |Illawarra 2012
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Chewy
BIO: Ayinde Ubaka was born in San Francisco, California (USA) and attended Oakland High School in Oakland, California.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Ayinde Ubaka made his NBL debut with the Gold Coast Blaze at 24 years of age. He scored 19 points in his first game.
First brought to Australia to play for new Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright at Gold Coast Blaze in 2009/10. Ubaka averaged 16.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists as the Blaze finished with a record of 16-12 and in third place during the regular season.
Ubaka was selected in the NBL All-Star Five Second Team.
2010/11
Ubaka averaged 13.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4 assists as well as being named the Taipans club MVP after guiding Cairns to a fourth place finish in the regular season.
The 2010/11 season saw the Cairns Taipans create history as they finished the regular season in third place with a 16–12 record and advanced through to the 2011 NBL Grand Final series, reaching the championship deciding round for the first time behind star trio Ron Dorsey, Ayinde Ubaka and Daniel Dillon.
Cairns eliminated Townsville in the semifinals (2-1) to reach the NBL Grand Final where they faced the New Zealand Breakers.
After being thrashed in the series opener in Auckland, going down 85–67, the Taipans responded in game two at home. They notched up a nail-biting 85–81 double-overtime win against the Breakers to send the series into a decider. It marked the first time in NBL history a play-off match was decided in double overtime. Cairns had looked set for a three-point win in normal time before a three-pointer from Breakers guard CJ Bruton in the dying seconds sent the match into overtime. However, revenge came five minutes later when Dorsey wiped out the Breakers’ three-point lead with no time to spare to force the match into double overtime. With momentum on their side, the Taipans were able to finish out the match on top. Dorsey’s miraculous long three-pointer to send the game into double overtime has a special place in the club’s history.
The Breakers went on to win the 2010/11 NBL Championship with a 71–53 win in the decisive game three in Auckland. The Taipans lacked the same spark In game three, with import pair Ubaka and Dorsey shooting 4-of-26 between them.
Despite ultimately losing the series, Dorsey’s heroics in game two went down in Taipans folklore.
2011/12
With the NBA going through a lock-out season during the 2011/12 NBL season, the Melbourne Tigers signed NBA free agent and Australian Boomers player Patrick Mills who became the first ‘active’ NBA player to compete in the NBL.
Mills was a late signing for the club who had already filled their roster, which included signing Ayinde Ubaka, Ron Dorsey and Daniel Dillon from Cairns and gutting the Taipans Roster. In order to make room for Mills, the team was forced to release long-time guard Daryl Corletto, who later signed with New Zealand. Mills then played the first nine games of the season (averaging 18.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 5 assists) before leaving to play in China on a much larger contract. Mills was replaced with import Myron Allen (9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists).
The remainder of the season could be described as tumultuous at best. The peak of this was highlighted by majority owner Seamus McPeake storming into the Tigers’ locker room and unleashing a tirade on the players before firing Ubaka on the spot following Melbourne’s loss to Gold Coast (73-60) at the State Netball and Hockey Centre. Ubaka’s sacking occurred without coach Trevor Gleeson being aware, as both he and captain Tommy Greer were participating in a post-game press conference. Ubaka’s sacking would contravene one of the key agreements of Gleeson’s hiring that he have final say on all player movements.
Ubaka, who averaged 12.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his 18 games with Melbourne, was immediately snapped up by Wollongong, where he saw out the rest of the season as the Tigers finished in sixth place during the regular season with a 11-17 record. Ubaka would average 12 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists as the Tigers failed to make the playoffs for the third year in a row.
Additionally, Tommy Greer would be named team captain this season while Cam Tragardh finished the year as Melbourne’s leading scorer (16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists) and earned the Tigers club MVP.
2013/14
After playing 18 games with Melbourne before being sensationally sacked by former Tigers owner Seamus McPeake in a locker room confrontation after a shock loss, Ubaka returned to play for theTigers in 2013/14.
Ubaka was a late signing, joining the team days before the Tigers season opener. Ubaka arrived as a replacement for star import Stephen Dennis who injured his Achilles tendon in pre-season training.
The Tigers season also began with club MVP Chris Goulding and captain Tommy Greer both on the injured list as well.
Ubaka struggled to deliver the same production he had in his previous stint in the NBL, putting up 5.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, all career lows. The Tigers were still able to finished the season in third place with a record of 15-13 and went on to face Adelaide in the semifinals.
The 36ers came away victorious in the opening game of the series behind Gary Ervin’s 27 points and 7 assists, winning 101-85.
Game two would then shift to Melbourne where Tigers guard Chris Goulding exploded for 37 points, allowing the Tigers to even the series behind a 98-87 win.
In game three, Adelaide demolished Melbourne with a 102-63 victory, holding them to a 27-point half-time score and winning every quarter by 7 points or more.
Ayinde Ubaka played five seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Gold Coast Blaze, Wollongong Hawks, Cairns Taipans and Melbourne Tigers. He averaged 13.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 92 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 29 | Melbourne | 15-13 (3) | 7 | 152.0 | 37 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 44 | 32% | 6 | 19 | 32% | 3 | 4 | 75% | 40% | 39% | |
| 2011-12 | 27 | Melbourne | 11-17 (6) | 18 | 595.0 | 216 | 44 | 59 | 6 | 38 | 7 | 2 | 43 | 38 | 68 | 169 | 40% | 30 | 81 | 37% | 50 | 57 | 88% | 55% | 49% | 23 |
| 2011-12 | 27 | Wollongong | 9-19 (8) | 11 | 339.0 | 150 | 39 | 29 | 6 | 33 | 9 | 0 | 33 | 18 | 47 | 119 | 39% | 15 | 42 | 36% | 41 | 51 | 80% | 52% | 46% | 24 |
| 2010-11 | 26 | Cairns | 16-12 (4) | 34 | 1,086.0 | 471 | 93 | 135 | 17 | 76 | 32 | 1 | 67 | 45 | 142 | 382 | 37% | 62 | 182 | 34% | 125 | 156 | 80% | 52% | 45% | 32 |
| 2009-10 | 25 | Gold Coast | 16-12 (3) | 22 | 697.0 | 359 | 58 | 93 | 12 | 46 | 14 | 0 | 50 | 39 | 113 | 248 | 46% | 39 | 92 | 42% | 94 | 104 | 90% | 60% | 53% | 28 | Totals | 92 | 2869 | 1233 | 244 | 328 | 42 | 202 | 62 | 4 | 197 | 146 | 384 | 962 | 39.9% | 152 | 416 | 36.5% | 313 | 372 | 84.1% | 55% | 48% | 32 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 29 | Melbourne | 15-13 (3) | 7 | 21.7 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 6.3 | 32% | 0.9 | 2.7 | 32% | 0.4 | 0.6 | 75% | 40% | 39% | |
| 2011-12 | 27 | Melbourne | 11-17 (6) | 18 | 33.1 | 12.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 9.4 | 40% | 1.7 | 4.5 | 37% | 2.8 | 3.2 | 88% | 55% | 49% | 23 |
| 2011-12 | 27 | Wollongong | 9-19 (8) | 11 | 30.8 | 13.6 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 10.8 | 39% | 1.4 | 3.8 | 36% | 3.7 | 4.6 | 80% | 52% | 46% | 24 |
| 2010-11 | 26 | Cairns | 16-12 (4) | 34 | 31.9 | 13.9 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 11.2 | 37% | 1.8 | 5.4 | 34% | 3.7 | 4.6 | 80% | 52% | 45% | 32 |
| 2009-10 | 25 | Gold Coast | 16-12 (3) | 22 | 31.7 | 16.3 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 11.3 | 46% | 1.8 | 4.2 | 42% | 4.3 | 4.7 | 90% | 60% | 53% | 28 | Total | 92 | 31.2 | 13.4 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 10.5 | 39.9% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 36.5% | 1.7 | 4.5 | 84.1% | 55% | 48% | 32 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 32 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Poland - Czarni Słupsk (2007) | Germany - Skyliners Frankfurt (2007–2008), Phantoms Braunschweig (2009) | Belgium - Antwerp Giants (2008) | Ukraine - BC Hoverla (2012–2013)
Ubaka joined Czarni Słupsk for the 2007–08 Polish Basketball League season, playing his first season in Poland and appearing in two games during a short November stint alongside teammates Michael Andersen, Omar Barlett, Mantas Česnauskis, Cedric Bozeman, and Lee Humphrey.
Ubaka then moved to Germany, joining Skyliners Frankfurt for the 2007–08 Basketball Bundesliga season on a two-month contract that began in late November 2007, sharing the backcourt and rotation with Pascal Roller and a roster that included Koko Archibong and Alex King before he departed Frankfurt in January 2008.
After leaving Germany, Ubaka finished the 2007–08 season in Belgium with Antwerp Giants, where he played alongside Kris Sergeant and Mikulas Gabriel, with the same club’s 2007–08 group also including imports such as Ian Hanavan and Ryan Sears.
Ubaka returned to Germany in February 2009, signing with Phantoms Braunschweig for the remainder of the 2008–09 Basketball Bundesliga season, where he was on a squad that included Jonathan Levy and Yassin Idbihi.
He later played in Ukraine with BC Hoverla during the 2012–13 Ukrainian Superleague season, and in a December 16, 2012 game against BC Khimik he scored 16 points in 25:35, going 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 from three-point range while sharing the roster with Kyndall Dykes, Ryan Pearson, Travis Peterson, and Eugene Lawrence, before leaving the club in January 2013 after averaging 8.1 points across 13 games.
COLLEGE
Ubaka played college basketball at California from 2003 to 2007, joining the Golden Bears under head coach Ben Braun.
Before arriving at Cal, he starred at Oakland High School in Oakland, California, where as a junior he averaged 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.
As a senior, he averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game as he earned fourth-team Parade All-American honours, selected first team all-state by Cal-Hi Sports, first-team All-ANG Newspapers and league MVP, and chosen All-Metro by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ubaka also played both quarterback and cornerback on the Oakland High football team his sophomore and senior years.
He was also profiled by Cal as a consensus Top 50 national recruit, with outlets ranking him as high as No. 26 overall nationally, and he was noted as the first Parade All-American guard to join the Bears since Jason Kidd arrived in 1992.
Ubaka suited up for California during the 2003-04 season, which the program’s year-by-year records list as a 13–15 campaign (9–9 in Pac-10 play, 4th in the conference) under head coach Ben Braun.
In that freshman season, he played 28 games and made 26 starts, averaging 6.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while also averaging 3.9 assists and ranking third in the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96) and ninth in the league in assists to earn honorable mention Pac-10 All-Freshman recognition.
Across those 28 games, he paced Cal with 108 assists while committing 55 turnovers, and he was recognized internally with Cal’s 2004 Most Unselfish Player Award, with highlights that included a nine-assist game against Oregon and a 13-point, eight-assist performance in the Pac-10 opener against Washington.
Ubaka returned for the 2004-05 season on a Cal team that finished 13–16 overall (6–12 in Pac-10 play, 8th) under Braun.
He opened that sophomore year strongly before suffering a major interruption when he broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on November 23, 2004, underwent surgery the following day, and missed 11 games before returning to action on January 15, 2005.
He finished the year playing 18 games with 11 starts, averaging 6.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, and he posted a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (48 assists to 23 turnovers) while working back from the injury.
Ubaka’s breakout came as a junior in 2005-06, when California went 20–11 overall (12–6 in Pac-10 play, 3rd) under Ben Braun, reached the Pac-10 Tournament final for the first time in program history, and earned an NCAA tournament berth as an at-large selection.
In that 2005-06 season, Ubaka started every game and averaged 14.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game while setting a school record by logging 1,156 minutes, ranking among the Pac-10 leaders in assists, assist-to-turnover ratio, free-throw shooting, and three-pointers per game, and leading Cal in made threes by hitting 61 from deep, which tied for the third-most in school history at the time.
He produced multiple scoring spikes that season, including a career-best 29 points against Oregon on January 5, along with 24 points at Arizona State and 20 points at Oregon, and he was named second-team NABC all-district, selected to the Pac-10 Tournament all-tournament team, and voted a co-recipient of Cal’s Most Improved Player Award.
As a senior in 2006-07, Ubaka captained a California team that finished 16–17 overall (6–12 in Pac-10 play, 8th) under Braun, and he delivered another high-usage season as one of the primary creators and perimeter scorers.
He averaged 13.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 42.5% from the field, 37.4% on three-pointers, and 78.0% at the free-throw line, and he was named an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection while also being voted Cal’s team MVP after the season.
In the same season, he paced the Bears with 59 made three-pointers, set personal bests with 142 assists and 24 steals, and reached double figures 26 times in 33 games, including a career-high-tying 29 points in Cal’s 76–69 overtime win over fourth-ranked UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament, where his scoring surge helped propel a signature upset run in Los Angeles.
Across his Cal career, he was repeatedly cited for his playmaking efficiency and late-game free-throw execution, and his collegiate arc was defined by an early-career facilitator role, a sophomore injury setback, and a steep junior-to-senior rise into an All-conference-level perimeter leader and high-minute workhorse in Braun’s system.
AWARDS
- 1x All-NBL Second Team
- 1x All-NBL Third Team
Related
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