averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds while being named a second-team All-SEC (Southeastern Conference) performer. He also broke Will Perdue's Vanderbilt single-season record for blocked shots. Ezeli's improvement was noted by many in the basketball world; then-Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, "I don't think they miss [Ogilvy] at all. Ezeli has improved so much that he gives them the best of both worlds [offense and defense]." Before the 2011–12 season, Ezeli was also named by Basketball Prospectus in its preseason outlook as one of the top 20 players in men's college basketball, along with teammates John Jenkins and Jeffery Taylor. As the Commodores were preparing for Ezeli's final season at Vanderbilt, Stallings said about him,"He now has a feel for the game. He has made himself an effective player. I think it's very rare. All of us are looking for more finished products. But we all understood if the payday came, if it really came, if he understood the game, if he was experienced, then it was going to give him a chance to be different than other guys. He didn't learn the game in elementary school like I did. He was trying to learn the game while competing effectively in the SEC. That makes it even more amazing." NCAA statistics Professional career Golden State Warriors (2012–2016) Ezeli was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 30th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. On July 6, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Warriors. As a rookie in 2012–13, Ezeli started many games for the Warriors in place of injured center Andrew Bogut. On January 19, 2013, Ezeli had a season-best game with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 116–112 win over the New Orleans Hornets. In June 2013, Ezeli was ruled out for six to nine months after undergoing surgery on his right knee. He subsequently missed the entire 2013–14 season, returning to action for the Warriors in the team's 2014–15 season opener. On December 22, 2014, he scored a then-career-high 15 points in a 128–108 win over the Sacramento Kings. The following day, he sprained his left ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and was confined to a moon boot. The injury kept him out all of January, when on January 28, he was assigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA Development League for rehabilitation.