Ike Diogu

Ike Diogu
Ike Diogu (left)
No. 6 – Sichuan Blue Whales
Position Power forward / Center
League CBA
Personal information
Born (1983-09-11) September 11, 1983
Buffalo, New York
Nationality Nigerian / American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school Garland (Garland, Texas)
College Arizona State (2002–2005)
NBA draft 2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career 2005–present
Career history
2005–2007 Golden State Warriors
2007–2008 Indiana Pacers
2008–2009 Portland Trail Blazers
2009 Sacramento Kings
2010–2011 Los Angeles Clippers
2012 San Antonio Spurs
2012 Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2012 Capitanes de Arecibo
2012–2013 Guangdong Southern Tigers
2013 Leones de Ponce
2013–2014 Bakersfield Jam
2014 Leones de Ponce
2014–2015 Dongguan Leopards
2015–2016 Guangdong Southern Tigers
2016–2017 Jiangsu Monkey King
2018–present Sichuan Blue Whales
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Nigeria
AfroBasket
2015 Tunisia
2017 Tunisia/Senegal

Ikechukwu Somtochukwu "Ike" Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Family and early life

Diogu's parents, natives of Nigeria, moved to the U.S. in 1980 to pursue further education. They later moved from Buffalo, New York, where he was born, to Garland, Texas. Ike attended Austin Academy, then enrolled at Garland High School. Diogu is a member of the Igbo ethnic group.[1]

College career

Diogu stands at 6 foot 9 inches (2.06 m) tall which is considered slightly undersized for an NBA power forward, but he makes up for his lack of height with his muscle, girth and 7'4" wingspan.[2]

Diogu attended Arizona State University, where he excelled on the team under head coach Rob Evans. He garnered several honors, both in the Pac-10 Conference and nationally. He won Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, and then Pac-10 Player of the Year in his final season with ASU, as a Junior. Many in the public speculated that Diogu would enter the draft after playing for his third season with Arizona State. On June 21, 2005, he made the decision to enter the NBA draft.

Professional career

Diogu was selected 9th overall in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. On December 23, 2005, he recorded a professional career-best 27 points on 13–15 shooting, surpassing his previous best by 12 points.[3]

On January 17, 2007, Diogu, whom Larry Bird called the "gem" of the deal, was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with teammates Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Troy Murphy, and Keith McLeod for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and Josh Powell.[4]

On June 26, 2008 (draft night), Diogu was traded by Indiana to the Portland Trail Blazers along with the draft rights to Jerryd Bayless in exchange for Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and the draft rights to Brandon Rush to the Indiana Pacers.

Diogu was traded to the Sacramento Kings for the Chicago Bulls' Michael Ruffin on February 18, 2009.[5]

Diogu signed with the New Orleans Hornets on July 29, 2009, but never appeared in a game for the team.

He signed with the Detroit Pistons on September 27, 2010, becoming a member of their preseason roster. On October 20, 2010, Diogu was waived by the Pistons.

The Los Angeles Clippers signed Diogu as a free agent on December 22, 2010.[6] On February 8, 2011, Diogu scored a season-high 18 points against the Orlando Magic.

Diogu joined the San Antonio Spurs on January 3, 2012.[7] One week later, the Spurs waived him.

During the 2012 CBA Playoffs, the Xinjiang Flying Tigers signed Diogu for the rest of the 2012 CBA Playoffs. Diogu was a replacement for Gani Lawal during this time. He later signed with Capitanes de Arecibo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[8]

On October 1, 2012, Diogu signed with the Phoenix Suns.[9] He was then waived on October 24, 2012.

In the fall of 2012, Diogu signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.[10] After the season in China, he joined the Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico.

On September 27, 2013, Diogu signed with the New York Knicks.[11] However, he was waived on October 25.[12]

On December 12, 2013, he was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam.[13]

On February 3, 2014, Diogu was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[14] On April 25, 2014, he was named the 2014 NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year.[15]

On April 29, 2014, Diogu re-joined the Leones de Ponce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.[16] This year Diogu helped the Lions to win the championship over the Capitanes of Arecibo.

On July 5, 2014, Diogu signed with the Dongguan Leopards of China for the 2014–15 CBA season.[17]

In October 2015, Diogu signed with Guangdong Southern Tigers for the 2015–16 CBA season.[18]

In November 2016, Diogu signed with the Jiangsu Monkey King for the purpose of replacing DeJuan Blair.[19]

In January 2018, Diogu signed with the Sichuan Blue Whales for the purpose of replacing Jamaal Franklin.[20]

Nigerian national team

Diogu has played with the senior men's Nigerian national basketball team. He is an Olympian as he has competed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. He was also named MVP of the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket tournament after averaging 22pts,8.7 rebounds.[21]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 Golden State 691414.9.524.000.8103.3.4.2.47.0
2006–07 Golden State 17013.1.530.000.7953.7.3.2.67.2
2006–07 Indiana 42212.8.454.000.8023.3.5.1.45.8
2007–08 Indiana 30110.2.478.000.8512.8.3.2.15.6
2008–09 Portland 1903.8.316.000.750.9.0.1.11.4
2008–09 Sacramento 10114.2.600.500.7583.9.3.2.19.2
2010–11 L.A. Clippers 36013.1.561.000.6613.2.1.1.15.8
2011–12 San Antonio 207.0.000.0001.000.5.0.0.01.0
Career 2251812.4.509.500.7863.1.3.2.36.0

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kirkpatrick, Curry. "Plenty to like about Ike". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  2. ↑ "Ike Diogu Stats, Video, Bio, Profile | NBA.com". nba.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ Pistons remain hot with 12-point win over Golden State
  4. ↑ "Pacers, Warriors announce 8-player deal". Associated Press. January 17, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  5. ↑ Blazers get Ruffin from Bulls, send Diogu to Kings
  6. ↑ "CLIPPERS SIGN FREE AGENT FORWARD IKE DIOGU". NBA.com. December 22, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-24.
  7. ↑ Spurs Sign Ike Diogu
  8. ↑ "Capitanes de Arecibo tab Ike Diogu". Sportando.com. April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Paul Coro’s Suns blog | Insiders". azcentral.com. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  10. ↑ Guandong Tigers add Diogu to their roster
  11. ↑ New York Knicks sign Ike Diogu
  12. ↑ Knicks waive Ike Diogu, C.J. Leslie, Josh Powell, Jeremy Tyler, Chris Douglas-Roberts
  13. ↑ Jam Acquire Ike Diogu Archived December 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ Eighth Annual NBA D-League All-Star Game Features 16 Players With NBA Experience Archived February 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ Jam's Ike Diogu Named 2014 NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year Archived April 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ Ike Diogu joins Leones de Ponce
  17. ↑ Ike Diogu signs with DongGuan with NBA out
  18. ↑ Ike Diogu to sign with Guangdong Southern Tigers
  19. ↑ Ike Diogu agreed to a deal with Jiangsu Tongxi
  20. ↑ Carchia, E. (January 2, 2018). "Sichuan Whales replace Jamaal Franklin with Ike Diogu". Sportando.com.
  21. ↑
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