Throughout the first Thursday in November, Ekpe Udoh’s mind wandered more than that of a typical college student. In class, he took notes, but can’t remember what they were for.

In the locker room before Baylor’s exhibition game against Central Oklahoma, he pulled on his jersey for the first time since leaving Michigan more than a year ago and the anticipation started to build.

There's an outside chance the Wolverines could face ex-teammate Ekpe Udoh, now with Baylor, during the Old Spice Classic this week in Orlando, Fla.

Ann Arbor News file photo

Then he stepped on the court, notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Even though it was only an exhibition, Udoh’s return to college basketball had begun.

“You know, I really couldn’t feel anything,” Udoh said. “You could have punched me, do whatever you wanted to, I wasn’t going to feel it. The whole day, from midnight until midnight I was on.

“You couldn’t do nothin’ to me, couldn’t say nothin’ to me. I was just ready to go.”

Reality of college basketball set in after the game. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward iced his knees, went through his typical post-game routine.

It never felt so good.

After a year away, Udoh is back in a starting lineup and already making an impact heading into this week’s Old Spice Classic in Orlando.

Sitting on opposite sides of the bracket this week, Michigan and Baylor can only meet on the final day, potentially in the championship game. Either way, though, Udoh will see senior forward DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris throughout the week in Orlando.

He wouldn’t mind facing his former team. Seeing Michigan on the potential schedule this year allowed him to think about it.

“I don’t think it’s going to be weird. It’s basketball,” Udoh said. “I’d be glad to see them in the championship game if we can make that run and they can make that run, it’d be great.”

Udoh had initially been recruited to Michigan by former coach Tommy Amaker. He spent two years in Ann Arbor, starting seven games as a freshman in Amaker’s last year and 24 games as a sophomore in current Michigan coach John Beilein’s first season.

An All-Big Ten defensive team member and the sophomore record holder in blocks at Michigan with 92, the Oklahoma native moved closer to home, looking for a change.

“I was definitely sad when he left,” said Sims, who calls Udoh his brother. “But he had to do what was best for him at the time. I knew it. He talked to me about everything.

“So I knew he was going and that was fair enough with me because of the bond I had built with him.”

This moment seemed a long way off when the junior arrived in Waco, Texas, after deciding to leave Michigan.

He spent last season working out with former Baylor assistant Matthew Driscoll, now the head coach at North Florida. He watched as much basketball as he could and studied what then-senior forward Kevin Rogers did on the court at Baylor.

He critiqued his play, saw what he was capable of doing in the Big 12 and then tried to adapt it to his own game.

“How he utilized his body position, how he would get to certain spots and certain things he could have done better,” Udoh said. “Just took all of that and put it in the pot and really started to work on those things.”

He also became stronger. As a freshman, he felt he would be pushed out of the post, unable to establish position deep inside the post for more than a second at a time.

Now, he’s able to post up in the block. Plus, the Big 12 is a different league than the Big Ten.

And he’s happy, after a year off, to be back playing again, averaging 15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. Having to wait a year gave him a renewed focus and passion for basketball. It showed in that first game back.

“Ekpe was very excited about this being his first game in a long time,” Baylor coach Scott Drew told reporters after the Central Oklahoma game. “You sould have thought he was playing for the Big 12 title tonight.”

Two games later, in his second regular season game for Baylor, he made it even better. He scored 21 points and hit the game-winner to beat Hartford, 71-69. After, he found himself on the phone all day, texting, e-mailing, talking with well wishers.

“That was the moment,” Udoh said. “Where I could say I’m all back. I’m back on, back on now.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.