Ike Diogu (left)
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No. 50 – Jiangsu Monkey King | |||||||||||||
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Position | Power forward / Center | ||||||||||||
League | Chinese Basketball Association | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born |
Buffalo, New York |
September 11, 1983 ||||||||||||
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–present | Jiangsu Monkey King | ||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Medals
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Ikechukwu Somtochukwu "Ike" Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Jiangsu Monkey King of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.