Gorgui Dieng

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Gorgui Dieng
File:20140101 Gorgui Dieng (1).JPG
Dieng in 2014
No. 5 – Minnesota Timberwolves
Position Center / Power forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1990-01-18) January 18, 1990 (age 34)
Kébémer, Senegal
Nationality Senegalese
Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight 241 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school Huntington Prep
(Huntington, West Virginia)
College Louisville (2010–2013)
NBA draft 2013 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013–present Minnesota Timberwolves
Career highlights and awards

Gorgui Sy Dieng (pronounced GOR-gee Jeng; born January 18, 1990)[1] is a Senegalese professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gorgui means "the old one" in his native language Wolof.

High school career

Dieng attended the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEEDS) Academy in Thies, Sénégal.[2] While at SEEDS, Dieng had a 3.2 GPA.[3]

He was invited to the "Basketball Without Borders" camp in South Africa in 2009 as one of 60 promising players selected from across Africa, he was named MVP of the camp[4][5]

Dieng transferred to Huntington Prep in West Virginia for the 2009–10 school year where he played for coach Rob Fulford. He averaged 15.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 7.2 blocks per game his senior season at Huntington Prep.[6]

College career

Recruitment

Dieng was recruited by Marquette, Marshall, Colorado, and Louisville among others who came in late. His high school coach Rob Fulford said "Academics are no question, He passed the SAT six months after learning English and passed with 400 points to spare."[3] The most interest was from Louisville and Marshall. Then on March 30, 2010 head coach Donnie Jones left Marshall to become the head coach of the University of Central Florida. The next day, Rick Pitino signed a contract extension through 2017 with Louisville. On April 26, 2010 Dieng verbally committed to Louisville. Louisville assistant coach Walter McCarty, who has NBA experience, helped Rick Pitino land Dieng in a Cardinals uniform.[3]

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Dieng was listed as the No. 10 power forward and the No. 44 player in the nation in 2010.[7]

Louisville career

File:Gorgui Dieng 2013.jpg
260x260px

Dieng was ruled ineligible by the NCAA when he first arrived at Louisville forcing them to hold him out of practice and individual workouts.[8] Louisville appealed the NCAA's decision and on October 26, 2010 it was announced that the NCAA reversed its original decision and ruled Dieng eligible immediately.[9] As a freshman Dieng saw action in 29 games averaging 16 mins a game. He scored 5.7 points a game, pulled down 4.4 rebounds and blocked 1.9 shots a game in his limited action.[10] The Cardinals finished the 2010–11 season with a 25–10 record, 12–6 in Big East play tied for 3rd and lost in the championship game of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament to Connecticut. They received an at-large bid and a #4 seed in the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where they were upset in the second round by #13 seeded Morehead State.[11]

As a sophomore, Dieng started at center for the 2011–12 Louisville team that reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. In the 2011–12 season, Dieng led the Big East Conference in blocks, and set the all-time school record for blocks in a season.[12] On March 22, 2012, Dieng matched a Louisville tournament record with 7 blocks in a game in a 57–44 Sweet 16 victory over Michigan State.[13]

Dieng was named as a student representative to the board of directors of the U of L athletic department for the 2012–13 school year, succeeding his graduated teammate Kyle Kuric.[14]

Despite being a junior, Dieng was honored on Senior Day in 2013, due to the fact that he would forgo his last year at Louisville to enter the 2013 NBA draft.[15]

College awards and honors

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves

Dieng was drafted 21st overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2013 NBA draft and was then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 14th pick, Shabazz Muhammad, in exchange for the ninth pick, Trey Burke.[16][17]

On March 20, 2014, in a game against the Houston Rockets, Dieng recorded 22 points and 21 rebounds, the first ever 20-20 game by a rookie in Timberwolves' franchise history. He also became just the sixth player since the NBA began tracking starts in 1970 to have at least 20 points and 20 rebounds within his first three career starts.[18] On April 11, also against the Rockets, Dieng scored the game-winning basket with 4.6 seconds left and finished with 12 points and 20 rebounds.[19] As a result of his improvements throughout the second half of the season, Dieng was named to the NBA All-Rookie second team.

On January 12, 2015, Dieng tied his career-high of 22 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.[20] On January 28, he was named a representative of Team World to compete in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge.[21]

On August 1, 2015, Dieng played for Team Africa at the 2015 NBA Africa exhibition game.[22] On October 21, 2015, the Timberwolves exercised their third-year team option on Dieng's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[23] On December 20, 2015, he had a season-best game with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 100–85 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[24] On February 6, 2016, he recorded a career-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in a 112–105 win over the Chicago Bulls.[25]

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
2013–14 Minnesota 60 15 13.6 .498 1.000 .634 5.0 .7 .5 .8 4.8
2014–15 Minnesota 73 49 30.0 .506 .167 .783 8.3 2.0 1.0 1.7 9.7
2015–16 Minnesota 82 39 27.1 .532 .300 .827 7.1 1.7 1.1 1.2 10.1
Career 215 103 24.3 .516 .296 .778 6.9 1.5 .9 1.3 8.5

International career

Dieng represented the Senegalese national basketball team during the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he averaged 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in six games.[26]

References

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External links

  • Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). and Basketball-Reference.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

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  4. ↑ "BWB Africa 2009.", FIBA. Retrieved on 4 May 2015.
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