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Ike Diogu

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Ike Diogu
Diogu with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011
Personal information
Born (1983-09-11) September 11, 1983 (age 42)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
NationalityNigerian / American
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolGarland (Garland, Texas)
CollegeArizona State (2002–2005)
NBA draft2005: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Drafted byGolden State Warriors
Playing career2005–2023
PositionPower forward / center
Number9, 3, 50, 1
Career history
2005–2007Golden State Warriors
2007–2008Indiana Pacers
2008–2009Portland Trail Blazers
2009Sacramento Kings
2010–2011Los Angeles Clippers
2012San Antonio Spurs
2012Xinjiang Flying Tigers
2012Capitanes de Arecibo
2012–2013Guangdong Southern Tigers
2013Leones de Ponce
2013–2014Bakersfield Jam
2014Leones de Ponce
2014–2015Dongguan Leopards
2015–2016Guangdong Southern Tigers
2016–2017Jiangsu Monkey King
2018Sichuan Blue Whales
2019Shimane Susanoo Magic
2021Chemidor
2021Astros de Jalisco
2022–2023Zamalek
2023Piratas de La Guaira
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Nigeria
AfroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2015 Tunisia
Silver medal – second place 2017 Tunisia/Senegal

Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu // ⓘ (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in multiple other leagues in his 18-year career. He was an All-American college player for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Family and early life

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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

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Diogu stands at 6 feet 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 feet 4 inches (2.24 m) 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 speculated that Diogu would enter the draft after playing his third season with Arizona State. On June 21, 2005, he made the decision to enter the NBA draft.

On January 15, 2022, Diogu's number 5 jersey was retired by the Sun Devils. He was the first consensus All-American in program history.[3]

Professional career

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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.[4] 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 in exchange for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and Josh Powell.[5]

Following his time in Indiana, Diogu became an NBA journeyman. On June 26, 2008, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night. He was subsequently moved to the Sacramento Kings in February 2009 for Michael Ruffin.[6] After brief stints signing with the New Orleans Hornets and Detroit Pistons, never appearing in a regular-season game for either, he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent in December 2010.[7] While with the Clippers, he scored a season-high 18 points against the Orlando Magic. He later had a one-week stint with the San Antonio Spurs in January 2012.[8]

Diogu established a significant international career following his NBA tenure. He joined the Xinjiang Flying Tigers for the 2012 CBA Playoffs as a replacement for Gani Lawal, before signing with Capitanes de Arecibo in Puerto Rico.[9] Although he attempted NBA comebacks with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks in 2012 and 2013 respectively,[10][11] he found success in the NBA D-League with the Bakersfield Jam. His performance earned him a spot on the 2014 D-League All-Star roster and the Impact Player of the Year award.[12][13] He returned to Puerto Rico in April 2014 to help Leones de Ponce win the league championship.[14]

For several years, Diogu was a fixture in the Chinese Basketball Association. Between 2014 and 2018, he played for the Dongguan Leopards, returned to the Guangdong Southern Tigers, and replaced injured players for both the Jiangsu Monkey King and Sichuan Blue Whales.[15][16][17] In the latter stages of his career, Diogu played globally, joining the Shimane Susanoo Magic in Japan (2019), Chemidor B.C. in Iran (2021), and Astros de Jalisco in Mexico (2021).[18][19] In January 2022, he signed with Zamalek of the Egyptian Basketball Super League, making his debut in the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup semifinal.[20]

National team career

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Diogu has played with the senior men's Nigeria national basketball team. He has competed at two Summer Olympiads: the 2012 and 2016. He was named MVP of the 2017 FIBA Afrobasket tournament after averaging 22 points, 8.7 rebounds.[21]

NBA career statistics

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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

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005–06 Golden State 69 14 14.9 .524 .000 .810 3.3 .4 .2 .4 7.0
2006–07 Golden State 17 0 13.1 .530 .000 .795 3.7 .3 .2 .6 7.2
2006–07 Indiana 42 2 12.8 .454 .000 .802 3.3 .5 .1 .4 5.8
2007–08 Indiana 30 1 10.2 .478 .000 .851 2.8 .3 .2 .1 5.6
2008–09 Portland 19 0 3.8 .316 .000 .750 .9 .0 .1 .1 1.4
2008–09 Sacramento 10 1 14.2 .600 .500 .758 3.9 .3 .2 .1 9.2
2010–11 L.A. Clippers 36 0 13.1 .561 .000 .661 3.2 .1 .1 .1 5.8
2011–12 San Antonio 2 0 7.0 .000 .000 1.000 .5 .0 .0 .0 1.0
Career 225 18 12.4 .509 .500 .786 3.1 .3 .2 .3 6.0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kirkpatrick, Curry. "Plenty to like about Ike". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  2. ^ "Ike Diogu Stats, Video, Bio, Profile | NBA.com". nba.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "Men's Hoops Hosts Colorado Saturday as Ike Diogu No. 5 Goes Into Rafters". Arizona State Sun Devils. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Pistons remain hot with 12-point win over Golden State
  5. ^ "Pacers, Warriors announce 8-player deal". Associated Press. January 17, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
  6. ^ Blazers get Ruffin from Bulls, send Diogu to Kings
  7. ^ "CLIPPERS SIGN FREE AGENT FORWARD IKE DIOGU". NBA.com. December 22, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  8. ^ Spurs Sign Ike Diogu
  9. ^ "Capitanes de Arecibo tab Ike Diogu". Sportando.com. April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  10. ^ "Paul Coro's Suns blog | Insiders". azcentral.com. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  11. ^ New York Knicks sign Ike Diogu
  12. ^ Eighth Annual NBA D-League All-Star Game Features 16 Players With NBA Experience Archived February 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Jam's Ike Diogu Named 2014 NBA D-League Impact Player of the Year Archived April 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Ike Diogu joins Leones de Ponce
  15. ^ Ike Diogu signs with DongGuan with NBA out
  16. ^ Ike Diogu to sign with Guangdong Southern Tigers
  17. ^ Carchia, E. (January 2, 2018). "Sichuan Whales replace Jamaal Franklin with Ike Diogu". Sportando.com.
  18. ^ Former NBA forward Ike Diogu joins Susanoo Magic japantimes.co.jp, 15th August 2019
  19. ^ Navarro Vásquez, Martín (September 1, 2021). "Presentan a Ike Diogu y Jorge Gutiérrez como refuerzos de Astros de Jalisco". Notisistema (in Spanish). Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "Al Zamalek inks Ikechukwu Diogu". afrobasket.com. January 16, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  21. ^ "Nigeria - FIBA Afrobasket 2017 - FIBA.basketball".
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