Personal information | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Dakar, Senegal | March 20, 1974||||||||||||||
Nationality | Senegalese | ||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | St. John's at Prospect Hall (Frederick, Maryland) | ||||||||||||||
College | Georgetown (1993–1997) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1997: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1997–2008 | ||||||||||||||
Position | Power forward / center | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
1998 | Aguada | ||||||||||||||
1998–1999 | Regatas San Nicolás | ||||||||||||||
1999 | Aguada | ||||||||||||||
1999–2001 | West Sydney Razorbacks | ||||||||||||||
2001 | Quilmes | ||||||||||||||
2001–2002 | Sutor Montegranaro | ||||||||||||||
2003–2004 | Lokomotiv Novosibirsk | ||||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Maccabi Haifa | ||||||||||||||
2005 | Karşıyaka | ||||||||||||||
2005–2006 | Blue Stars Beirut | ||||||||||||||
2006 | Arena Amman | ||||||||||||||
2006–2007 | West Sydney Razorbacks | ||||||||||||||
2007 | Halcones UV Córdoba | ||||||||||||||
2007 | Belgrano de San Nicolás | ||||||||||||||
2008 | Boca Juniors | ||||||||||||||
2008 | Al-Fateh | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Cheikh Yaya Dia (born March 20, 1974) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in Dakar, Dia moved to the United States and he played high school basketball at St. John's at Prospect Hall in Maryland; he then went on to play 4 years in college at Georgetown, where he was named the Big East Most Improved Player in his senior season in 1997. After going undrafted in the 1997 NBA draft, Dia started his professional career in Uruguay. Throughout his career he has played in Uruguay, Argentina, Australia, Italy, Russia, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Dia was also a member of the Senegalese national basketball team, with which he won the gold medal during the 1997 FIBA Africa Championship and participated in the 1998 FIBA World Championship.
Dia was born in Dakar, and growing up in Senegal he spoke French and Wolof. [1] Dia's full name is Cheikh Yaya Dia, with Cheikh and Yaya being his given names and Dia being his surname. [2] [3] [4] His middle name is also mistakenly spelled "Ya Ya" or "Ya-Ya", and some non-Senegalese sources erroneously cited it as a nickname. [5]
Dia played mostly soccer in his childhood years, until he became taller than most of his peers: at 15 years old, he began playing basketball. [6] While playing in Senegal, Dia was noticed by a scout, who suggested that he come to the United States, play one year in high school, and then sign with a college. [6] Dia accepted and left Senegal, settling in Maryland, where he attended St. John's at Prospect Hall in Frederick. [7] In his only season there, Dia averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, playing as a center on a team that was named the 8th best in the nation by USA Today . [8] In March 1993, Dia was named an Honorable Mention All-Area selection. [9]
Dia signed to play for Georgetown in August 1993, [8] having already talked with the program's coaching staff during his recruitment process in Senegal. [6] Under coach John Thompson, Dia received limited playing time as a freshman at 8 minutes per game; he scored 12 points against UC Irvine on December 18, 1993 [10] in one of the few games in which he scored points: he averaged 1.7 points for the season, along with 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. [11] [12] Dia also appeared in 2 games during the 1994 NCAA tournament, playing 1 minute (recording no stats) against Illinois, and 11 minutes against Arkansas, scoring 5 points and posting 2 rebounds. [13]
In Dia's sophomore season another Senegalese player, Boubacar Aw, joined the Georgetown Hoyas. Dia received less playing time in 1994–95 (5.7 minutes per game), and posted career lows in points (1.6) and rebounds (1.8). [14] In his junior year, Dia played all 37 games, always as a reserve, and improved his averages to 2.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, while shooting a career-high 53.3% from the field. [15] During the 1996 NCAA tournament, Dia played 4 games, scoring 10 points along with 6 rebounds in the first game against Mississippi Valley State in 22 minutes of play. He then played the other three games averaging 1.3 points in limited minutes. [16]
After the end of the 1995–96 season, Georgetown lost two of its main frontcourt players, Othella Harrington and Jerome Williams, and Dia was included in the starting lineup by coach Thompson, being named team captain. [11] Dia received significant playing time, and in 32.2 minutes he greatly improved his rebounding, [17] averaging 10.1 per game, leading the Big East in rebounds per game and total rebounds, posting 13 games in which he at least had 10 rebounds. [11] He grabbed 14 rebounds in games against Notre Dame and Boston College, and he had a career-high 18 rebounds on February 26, 1997 against Rutgers, one of the best marks in Georgetown history. [11] [18] Dia also recorded 10 games scoring double figures. [11] At the end of the season, Dia was named the Big East Most Improved Player, [19] and received the Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year award. [11]
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993–94 | Georgetown | 28 | 0 | 8.0 | .423 | .000 | .333 | 2.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.7 |
1994–95 | Georgetown | 12 | 0 | 5.7 | .444 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
1995–96 | Georgetown | 37 | 0 | 12.8 | .533 | .000 | .611 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 2.9 |
1996–97 | Georgetown | 30 | 30 | 32.2 | .418 | .000 | .617 | 10.1 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 8.1 |
Career | 107 | 30 | 16.2 | .445 | .000 | .597 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 3.9 |
After his senior season at Georgetown, Dia was automatically eligible for the 1997 NBA draft. Dia participated in trials with several NBA teams, among which the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards. [6] The Courier News from New Jersey mentioned Dia as an NBA prospect in a February 1997 article. [17] Despite interest from NBA teams, Dia went undrafted; he was drafted in the 1997 Continental Basketball Association (CBA) draft, being selected in the 3rd round (29th overall pick) by the Grand Rapids Hoops. [20] The Hoops waived Dia in November, and he signed with Uruguayan club Aguada in early 1998. [21] After one season in the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball, Dia moved to Argentina, where he played for Regatas San Nicolás. He appeared in 6 games with the club, averaging 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game. He then went back to Aguada in 1999, and averaged 19.1 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. [1]
His performances in Uruguay earned him the interest of the West Sydney Razorbacks, that signed him in July 1999, as the team needed a center. [1] In the 1999–2000 NBL season Dia played 31 games, averaging 13 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He stayed with the Razorbacks also for the following season, during which he posted 15.9 points, 9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Dia left Australia in 2001, and played for Argentinian club Quilmes in the Liga Nacional de Básquet: he averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds over 14 appearances. He then to Europe for the first time in his career: in July 2001 he signed for Italian LegaDue side Sutor Montegranaro. With his new team he played 36 league games, averaging 16.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1 block per game, playing as a forward. [22] In 2003 he signed for Russian team Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, and played 28 games in the 2003–04 Russian Super League, averaging 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. In 2004 he moved to Israel, and joined Maccabi Haifa. He appeared in 11 games in the Israeli Premier League, posting averages of 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds.
In 2005 Dia moved to another European country, Turkey: he appeared in 6 games during the 2005–06 Turkish Basketball League with Karşıyaka S.K., playing 22.5 minutes per game (4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game). Later in 2005 he signed for Lebanese team Blue Stars of Beirut. In the 2005–06 Lebanese Basketball League he ranked 4th in the league in rebounding with 12.2 per game. [23]
After playing in Jordan with Arena Amman, in October 2006 he went back to Australia and signed another contract with the West Sydney Razorbacks. [3] He played 32 games during the 2006–07 NBL season, averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. In 2007 he joined Mexican team Halcones UV Córdoba of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. [24] In November 2007 Dia joined Belgrano de San Nicolás, another Argentinian club. [24] After 12 games (11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds) Dia left the team and signed for Boca Juniors, where he played 7 games (5.9 points, 3.3 rebounds). He retired after playing with Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia.
Dia was first called up to the Senegalese national team in 1991. [6] In 1997 he was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1997 FIBA Africa Championship. [2] [6] He then took part in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, playing 5 games averaging 9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1 assist per game: he had a double-double against Japan with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and scored 16 points South Korea. [25] According to Senegalese press agency Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, Cheikh Yaya Dia and teammate Boubacar Aw did not accept any call-up from the national team after 1998. [4]
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career for the Heat.
Mouhamed Saer Sene is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. He has a 7 ft 8½ in (2.35 m) wingspan.
The 1998–99 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1998–99 NCAA Division I college basketball season. They were coached by John Thompson, in his 27th season as head coach until January 8, 1999, when he resigned and Craig Esherick succeeded him. The Hoyas played most of their home games at the MCI Center in Washington, DC, although they played one home game at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season 15–16, 6–12 in Big East play. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Big East men's basketball tournament before losing to Miami. Not invited to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for the second year in a row, they instead appeared in the 1999 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) – their second consecutive appearance in the NIT – and lost to Princeton in the first round. Georgetown finished with its first losing record since the 1972–73 season.
The 1996–97 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 25th season as head coach. Their home court was USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East 7 Division of the Big East Conference, were the regular-season champions of the Big East 7 Division, and finished the season with a record of 20-10, 11-7 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1997 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the semifinals before losing to Boston College. They received a No. 10 seed in the West Regional of the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in 19 years – and lost to No. 7 seed North Carolina-Charlotte in the first round.
The 1995–96 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1995–96 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 24th season as head coach. They played their home games at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East 7 Division of the Big East Conference, were the regular-season champions of the Big East 7 Division, and finished the season with a record of 29–8, 13–5 in Big East play. Their record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1996 Big East men's basketball tournament, and they advanced to the tournament final before losing to Connecticut. They were awarded a No. 2 seed in the East Regional of the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – Georgetown's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years – and advanced to the East Regional Final before losing to No. 1 seed Massachusetts. They were ranked No. 4 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No. 7 in the postseason Coaches' Poll.
The 1985–86 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1985–86 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his 14th season as head coach. They played their home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. They were members of the Big East Conference and finished the season with a record of 24–8, 11–5 in Big East play. They advanced to the 1986 Big East men's basketball tournament semifinals before losing to Syracuse and to the second round of the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament before losing to Michigan State. They were ranked No. 13 in the season's final Associated Press Poll and No. 15 in the final Coaches' Poll.
The 1979–80 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 1978–79 NCAA Division I college basketball season. John Thompson, coached them in his eighth season as head coach. It was the Hoyas' first season as members of the original Big East Conference, which began play this season; prior to this year, Georgetown had been an independent during the 38 seasons it had fielded a team since the dissolution of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference at the end of the 1938-39 season. Georgetown would remain a member of the original Big East for 34 seasons, through the end of the 2012–13 season. The team's penchant for playing tight games decided in the last seconds led to it being nicknamed the Heart Attack Hoyas.
The 1965–66 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1965–66 NCAA University Division college basketball season. Tommy O'Keefe coached it in his sixth and final season as head coach. The team was an independent and played its home games at McDonough Gymnasium on the Georgetown campus in Washington, D.C. It finished with a record of 16-8 and no postseason play.
The 2014–15 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 11th year head coach John Thompson III, were members of the Big East Conference, and played their home games at the Verizon Center. They finished the season 22–11, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament where they lost to Xavier. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Eastern Washington in the second round before losing in the third round to Utah.
Gregory Vernon Whittington is an American professional basketball player for VEF Rīga of the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. After a tumultuous college career with Georgetown, Whittington began his professional career by helping the Sioux Falls Skyforce win the 2016 NBA D-League championship. He went on to play in Australia, Japan, Israel, Turkey, Russia and Spain. He made his NBA debut in 2021 with the Denver Nuggets.
Justin Bailey is an American basketball coach and former player. He played college basketball for Hartford before playing overseas for 13 years as a professional in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Kazakhstan and Russia.
The 2016–17 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by 13th-year head coach John Thompson III, played their home games at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., and were members of the Big East Conference.
The 2018–19 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hoyas, led by second-year head coach Patrick Ewing, played their home games at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament, they lost to Seton Hall in the quarterfinals. They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the UNC Greensboro bracket where they lost in the first round to Harvard.
Kermit Leanell Holmes is an American basketball coach and former professional player. After sitting our his first year of college basketball due to Proposition 48, he played three years with the Oklahoma Sooners, being selected as a starter in his senior season. He went undrafted in the 1991 NBA draft and played several years in the CBA, where he won two championships and earned two selections in the United States national team, winning the gold medal during the FIBA Americas Championship 1997 and the silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games. After the end of his playing career he started coaching.
Mikael Hopkins is an American-Hungarian professional basketball player for Reggio Emilia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Standing at 2.06 m (6'9"), he plays the power forward position. He played college basketball for the Georgetown Hoyas.
Boubacar Richard Aw is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in Thiès, Aw moved to the United States in 1993 and he played high school basketball in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina; he then went on to play 4 years in college at Georgetown. After graduating from college, Aw had a 10-year professional career in Central and South America. He was also a member of the Senegalese national basketball team, with which he won the gold medal during the 1997 FIBA Africa Championship and participated in the 1998 FIBA World Championship. After retiring from playing basketball, Aw has become a teacher and youth basketball coach.
Omar Shariff Sneed is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Beaumont Panthers of The Basketball League (TBL). A Texas native, Sneed played high school basketball at West Brook in Beaumont.
Jaime Peterson is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player. A 2.06 m forward-center, he was born in New York City to Dominican parents. After playing for three different high schools, including a postgraduate year at Maine Central Institute, Peterson played two seasons in the junior college circuit with Champlain College in Vermont before playing in the NCAA Division I with the Pittsburgh Panthers. He went undrafted in the 1995 NBA draft, and he started his professional career in France. In 2003 he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Liga Española de Baloncesto, the second tier of Spanish basketball. He played for the Dominican Republic national team from 1995 to 2005, and he won the silver medal at the 1995 and 2003 editions of Centrobasket.
Sunday A. Adebayo is a Nigerian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks and Memphis Tigers.
Cheikh Bamba "C.B." Diallo is a Senegalese basketball player for AS Loon plage Basket and the Senegal national team. Standing at 1.91 m, he mainly plays as shooting guard.