Teams Ike Diogu Has Played For:



Early Life:

Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu, better known as Ike Diogu, was born on September 11th, 1983 in Buffalo, New York. His parents are natives of Nigeria and moved to the United States in 1980 to pursue further education. He later moved from Buffalo, New York to Garland, Texas and went to Austin Academy for middle school then enrolled in Garland High School. His family includes cousins Onye, Obinnaya, Adonna Ihenacho and uncle Ugochu Ihenacho. He also has 2 brothers, Eric and Eddie. Eric Diogu was the starting tight end on the Tennessee Vol's 1998 National Championship team. Diogu is a member of the Igbo ethnic group.

High School:

Diogu was a Class 5A first-team all-state pick by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches after leading Garland Owls to 24-10 record and regional quarterfinals. Diogu was also a Dallas Morning News First-Team All-Area selection, along with being named the District 10 5A Most Valuable Player. Ike played in 32 games in his senior year and averaged 23.0 points, 12 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. He led 5A in rebounding and blocks and was second in scoring. Diogu shot 77.8% (285-of-366) from the floor in senior year, as well as shooting 81%  from two-point range and was 11-of-28 (.393) from three-point stripe. Diogu made 71%  (156-of-219) of his free throws. Diogu scored 37 points and had 17 boards in first game of senior season in a 78-66 win over Richardson Berkner High School. Ike had 39 points and 16 boards against North Mesquite, and was named MVP of the 2002 Southwestern Bell Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game on July 29 as he led the North team to a 107-102 win at Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston. Diogu posted 21 points and 15 rebounds in the All-Star game. Ike averaged 17 points, 12 boards and four blocks in his junior season. Ike was coached at Garland by Phil Sirois and Lance Harper. Diogu averaged six points and seven boards in sophomore year.

Entering ASU:

The recruitment of Diogu marked the second straight fall ASU signed a top-50 player, as he was ranked 40th by Clark Francis of the HoopScoop. Also ranked No. 21 by ESPN.com, #37 by Prepstars, No. 41 by CBS Sportsline (Tony Mejia) and #89 by The Sporting News (Dave Telep). His stock rose in July of 2000 at the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey. Others in the Dallas area in Diogu's senior class included Lincoln High's Chris Bosh (Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Toronto Raptors), Deron Williams (Illinois Fighting Illini and Utah Jazz), Bracey Wright (Indiana Hoosiers and Minnesota Timberwolves) and Daniel Horton (Michigan Wolverines and Miami Heat). Bosh and Horton played with Diogu on the Texas Blue Chips, an AAU team coached by Mitch Malone in the summers of 2000 and 2001. Some stated that the 2002 senior class from Dallas was the area's best since 1991, which included Greg Ostertag (Kansas Jayhawks and Utah Jazz), Jimmy King (Michigan Wolverines and Toronto Raptors) and Mario Bennett (Arizona State and Phoenix Suns).

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-Freshman Season:

Diogu was described by many as the best freshman in the nation in 2002-2003 who didn't wear an orange headband, as he earned Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and was the only freshman to earn All-Pac-10 honors. Ike was one of just two freshmen (Carmelo Anthony was the other) to receive Associated Press All-America votes in 2002-2003. He also became just the ninth freshman to earn all-league honors since ASU joined the loop in 1978-79 (25 previous seasons) and just the fourth to earn All-Pac-10 in the previous seven seasons. Diogu became the first freshman since Cal's Shareef Abdur-Rahim in 1995-96 to finish in the league's top 10 in scoring and rebounding. He was Arizona State's third Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, joining Jamal Faulkner in 1990-91 and Byron Scott in 1979-80. Diogu had one of the best freshman seasons in Pac-10 history. He averaged 19.9 points and 9.6 rebounds in the final 14 games and had 12 20-point games and seven double-doubles on the year.Ike was the only Pac-10 player who ranked in the league's top five in Scoring and Rebounding as he finished third in scoring (19.0 ppg.) and fifth in rebounding (7.8 rpg.). Cal senior Joe Shipp, Oregon junior Luke Ridnour and Diogu were the only Pac-10 players who posted double digits in every game. Diogu also set ASU freshman records for starts (32), points (607), field goals made (209), rebounds (249) and minutes (1,030). He set school records for free throws made (180) and attempted (245) and his 18 rebounds vs. Oregon in the Pac-10 Tournament set the ASU freshman single-game and Pac-10 Tournament mark. His 245 free throw attempts (7.66 per game) broke the ASU record of 234 (7.09 per game) set by Mario Bennett in 1994-95 and led the Pac-10. Diogu shot 60.8% from the field (209-of-344), eighth in the nation and tied for first in the Pac-10, and finished at 63.8% (120-of-188) in the 18 Pac-10 games, first in the league. Diogu was a NABC District 15 First-Team Selection, and scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting vs. Memphis on March 20 in first-round NCAA Tournament win, ASU's first NCAA win since 1995. Diogu posted 27 points and a Pac-10 Tournament record 18 rebounds vs. Oregon on March 13. Ike scored 26 points and hauled in nine boards at No. 19 Stanford on Feb. 27. He scored 26 points vs. both USC and UCLA on Feb. 13-15 and was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for his efforts, just the third freshman to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week in the previous six seasons. Diogu posted 18 points and 13 rebounds vs. No. 20 California. Diogu scored 27 points at Oregon on Jan. 4, and had 18 points and 10 boards in Pac-10 opener on Jan. 2 at Oregon State. Diogu scored 18 points and nine boards vs. Purdue on Dec. 21 at Las Vegas Showdown. Diogu also played 37 minutes vs. Utah on Nov. 27 and had 22 points, eight boards and zero turnovers. Diogu was just the second ASU freshman to start in the season opener in the previous 10 years.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-Pan American Games:

Diogu spent summer of 2003 competing at the Pan American Games. Coached by Tom Izzo, Diogu notched 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game in five games. He shot 61.1% from the floor (11-of-18) and led the team with eight boards in the opening game, an 80-79 win over Argentina, as he posted 11 points in 12 minutes. Diogu, the youngest player on the 2003 team, is one of 10 Pac-10 players to compete in the Pan-American Games since 1951. Diogu roomed with 2004 NBA Lottery pick Josh Childress (2004-Stanford Cardinal and Atlanta Hawks), while Luke Jackson  (2004-Oregon Ducks and Cleveland Cavaliers) also was on the squad.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2004 AP Preseason Honors:

Ike Diogu earned Associated Press Preseason All-American Honors in the fall of 2003, becoming just the 11th Pac-10 player (and first Sun Devil) to earn the honor since the preseason poll was established in 1986-87. Other Pac-10 players to earn the accolade were Sean Elliott (1988-Arizona Wildcats and San Antonio Spurs), Jason Kidd (1993-California Golden Bears and Dallas Mavericks), Damon Stoudamire (1994-Arizona Wildcats and Portland Trail Blazers), Brevin Knight (1996-Stanford Cardinal and Charlotte Bobcats), Mike Bibby (1997-Arizona Wildcats and Sacramento Kings), Miles Simon (1997-Arizona Wildcats and Orlando Magic), Loren Woods (2000-Arizona Wildcats and Minnesota Timberwolves), Casey Jacobsen (2001-Stanford Cardinal and Phoenix Suns), Luke Walton (2002-Arizona Wildcats and Los Angeles Lakers) and Jason Gardner (2002-Arizona Wildcats and Washington Wizards)

Arizona State Sun Devils-2004-Sophmore Season:

Diogu was an ESPN.com third-team All-American in 2003-2004. He was also one of 20 finalists for the 2003-2004 Naismith Player of the Year and one of 16 finalists for Rupp All-American honors. Diogu set school season records with 243 made free throws and 298 attempts, and led ASU in scoring in 12 of the final 14 games. Ike averaged 37.5 minutes in the final 17 games, and had 19 points and 14 rebound at rival No. 22 Arizona on March 7.Diogu scored 23 points and 12 boards at Oregon on Feb. 21, and had 27 points and 13 rebounds vs. UCLA on Feb. 12. Diogu had one of his best scoring nights, dropping 33 points at California on Feb. 7. He aslo had a 12-of-12 outing at the free throw line at USC on Jan. 17. It was the first time a Sun Devil was perfect in at least 12 free throws in a game since Arthur Thomas was 13-of-13 on Dec. 4, 1987, against San Diego State. Diogu had a career-high 6 assists vs. #4 Stanford on Jan. 8, and matched school records with 18 made free throws and 23 attempts vs. Western Michigan on Dec. 30. Diogu had 17 20-point games on the year, which led the league, and also averaged a league-leading 36.9 minutes per game.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2005-Junior Season:

As a junior, Diogu earned second-team All-America honors and was named Pac-10 Player of the Year, and became just the third Pac-10 player to lead the league in both scoring (22.6 ppg.) and rebounding (9.8 rpg.), joining Mark McNamara (1981-California Golden Bears and Philadelphia 76ers) and A.C. Green (1984-Oregon State Beavers and Los Angeles Lakers). Diogu also led the league in blocks at 2.34 per game, becoming the first player since blocks became an official statistic in 1977-78 to lead the Pac-10 in all three categories. Ike topped the Pac-10 in field goal percentage (.575), offensive boards (3.69) and minutes per game (36.38), and also led the league in Pac-10 games-only stats in points (22.3), offensive rebounds (4.06) and minutes (37.78) per game and was second in rebounding with 9.2 boards per game. Diogu played 13 40-minute games on the year, including four of the final six contests, and made 248 free throws, breaking his own Pac-10 record of 243 set in his sophomore season. Diogu also posted a Pac-10 leading 15 double-doubles and led the nation in free throws made (248) and attempted (311). In addition, Ike posted six 30-point games and 21 20-point games.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-2005-Double-Figure Scoring Streak:

Diogu's national-best double figure scoring streak of 91 games was close to Pac-10 and NCAA-record levels. The NCAA record is 115 set by La Salle's Lionel Simmons from 1987-90, while Sean Elliott of Arizona (1985-89) scored in double digits in the final 108 games of his career. Diogu's lowest point total in his career was 10 against Morehead State the first game of his career on Nov. 22, 2003, and then he hit two free throws with 21 seconds left to reach 10 points at Oregon on Jan. 22, 2005. Two Pac-10 notables never reached 70 games, as Lew Alcindor (AKA Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-1967-1969-UCLA Bruins and Los Angeles Lakers) posted double digits in 69 straight games while Don MacLean (1989-1992-UCLA Bruins and Phonix Suns), the Pac-10's career scoring leader, had his streak stopped at 68.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-2005-Scoring Notes:

Ike Diogu tied for fifth in the nation at 22.6 points per game in 2004-05 after averaging 22.8 points in 2003-2004, which not only led the Pac-10 but was ninth in the nation. Only one other Sun Devil has finished in the nation's top-10 in scoring, as Eddie House (Arizona State Sun Devils and Boston Celtics) was fourth in 1999-2000 (23.0 ppg.). Diogu entered 2004-2005 as nation's third-leading returning scorer and was the first Pac-10 scoring leader to be back on campus the following season since Reggie Miller (UCLA Bruins and Indiana Pacers) won the honors in 1985-86 and returned in 1986-87.

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-2005-All American Honors:

Ike Diogu earned consensus second-team All-American honors in 2004-2005, as he was honored as a second-team selection by the Associated Press, Sporting News, United States Basketball Writers (USBWA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Basketball Times. First-team consensus honors went to seniors Wayne Simien (Kansas Jayhawks and Miami Heat), and Hakim Warrick (Syracuse Orange and Memphis Grizzlies), juniors J.J. Redick (Duke Blue Devils and Orlando Magic) and Dee Brown (Illinois Fighting Illini and Utah Jazz) and sophomores Chris Paul (Wake Forest Demon Decons and New Orlenas Hornets) and Andrew Bogut (Utah Utes and Milwaukee Bucks). Second-team honors went to Diogu, seniors Luther Head (Illinois Fighting Illini and Houston Rockets) and Salim Stoudamire (Arizona Wildcats and Atlanta Hawks) and juniors Sean May (North Carolina Tar Heels and Charlotte Bobcats) and Deron Williams (Illinois Fighting Illini).

Arizona State Sun Devils-2003-2005-Things Said About Ike Diogu:

He was arguably the most efficient player in college basketball the past three years as in 2004-2005 he became the first player in Pac-10 history to lead the league in scoring (22.6 ppg.), rebounding (9.8 rpg.) and blocks (2.34 bpg.) which led to Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. Diogu also became the first Sun Devil to earn consensus All-American honors (second-team) in 2004-05. Ike was the first Associated Press preseason All-American in ASU history and just the 11th in Pac-10 history when he notched the honor in fall of 2003. Diogu was an Associated Press Honorable Mention postseason selection twice (2002-03 and 2003-04). Diogu possesses great hands, smarts, fundaments, solid inside moves and has shown an incredible ability to reinvent himself each game as teams throw double and triple-teams at him. His demeanor and maturity are as good as his ability to draw fouls and convert three-point plays. On 88 occasions he has been fouled while making a shot and has made the ensuing free throw 67 times. Despite facing collapsing defenses he has notched double digits in all 91 games (the best current mark in the nation) and has posted less than 15 points just 12 times. With 671 made free throws in his career, he trails only Don MacLean (1988-1992-UCLA Bruins and Phoenix Suns-711) in the Pac-10 record book. His 854 attempts is second only to Adam Keefe (1988-1992-Stanford Cardinal and Utah Jazz-886). He also is the first Pac-10 player to lead the league in scoring in back-to-back years since Stan Love (1969-1971-Oregon Ducks and Los Angeles Lakers) did the trick in 1969-70 and 1970-71. Diogu finished ninth in the nation in scoring his sophomore year (22.8 ppg.) and tied for fifth in junior year (22.6 ppg.). Diogu had 11 30-point games, 50 20-point games, 30 double-doubles and 15 other games with nine rebounds in his 91-game career. In addition, Diogu led ASU to its first NCAA Tournament win since 1995 with a 22-point effort against Memphis in March of 2003.

Golden State Warriors-2005:

On June 28th, Diogu was selected 9th overall in the first round of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He appeared in 69 games for the Golden State Warriors, including 14 starts. He averaged 7.0 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 14.9 minutes per contest, and  shot 52.4 percent (175-334) from the field and 81.0 percent (136-168 FTS) from the line for the season. Among NBA rookies, he ranked second in field goal percentage, 15th in scoring, 13th in rebounding, seventh in free throw percentage and eighth in blocked shots (0.43 bpg). In 21 games with 20+ minutes, he averaged 14.0 ppg and 6.4 rpg, while shooting 59.3 percent (105-177 FGS) from the field. In 14 starting assignments, he averaged 9.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg in 24.3 minutes per contest, while shooting 54.5 percent (48-88 FGS) from the field. Diogu finished the season strong, averaging 16.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg, while shooting 57.1 percent (36-63 FGS) from the field and 90.9 percent (40-44 FTS) from the foul line over final seven games. Ike scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds at Utah on April 19th. Diogu registered 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. Phoenix, April 14th. Diogu made his first career start vs. Boston on Decemeber 28th and registered 12 points in 24 minutes. Diogu notched a season-high 27 points (13-15 FGS, 1-2 FTS) and seven rebounds in 32 minutes at Detroit. Diogu had 11 points in 14 minutes in his NBA debut vs. San Antonio on November 23rd after he missed the first 12 regular season games and all of preseason due to a fractured fourth metacarpal in his left hand, which he suffered during practice at training camp in Hawaii on October 9th. For the season, Diogu scored 10+ points 22 times and had four games of 20 or more points...he had 10 or more rebounds four times and recorded three double-doubles. One of those double-doubles came against the Pacers, when he scored 16 points and led the Warriors with a career-high 12 boards in Indiana's 99-89 win at Golden State on January 5th. Diogu led the Warriors in points 3 times, rebounds 5 times, steals once and blocks 12 times. In addition to his 12 games spent on inactive list due to injury, he drew one DNP-CD. (Did Not Play-Coach's Decision)

Golden State Warriors/Indiana Pacers-2006:

Diogu started the season by making appearances in four of the Golden State Warriors’ first five games. In those four outings, he averaged 5.8 rpg, 9.0 ppg and 19.8 mpg--all off the bench. Diogu spent the next 19 games on the sidelines, 17 on the inactive list with a sprained left ankle and two due to coaching decisions. He then saw action in 13 of the next 15 games, before being dealt to Indiana. In those 13 games, he averaged 3.1 rpg and 6.7 rpg. In 42 appearances for Indiana, he averaged 5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg and 12.8 mpg. He scored in double figures nine times for the Pacers, including the last two in a row. In the Pacers’ final road game of the season at Atlanta on April 17th, he came off the bench to lead the team with 20 points on 7-12 FGS and 6-7 FTS. He added a bench-high seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot against the Hawks. He had two games with 10+ rebounds and notched one double-double. In the Pacers’ win vs. the San Antonio Spurs on April 1st, he scored 18 points and snared a career-high 13 rebounds for his only double-double of the season. In that game, he had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the second half of the Pacers’ come-from-behind win. Diogu's 13 rebounds vs. San Antonio featured a career-high eight offensive boards, the most by any Pacers’ player for the season other than Jeff Foster. After having just 21 offensive boards in 17 games for Golden State, he averaged 1.3 orpg for the Pacers. Diogu had at least three offensive rebounds five times and in three of those he had five or more. In his only other game for the season with double-digit rebounds, he had 10 vs. Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) on Febuary 7th. Against the Sonics, he had seven offensive boards. After shooting 53.0 percent (44-83) from the floor as a member of the Warriors, he connected on 83-183 (.454) FGS in 42 games for the Pacers...he started his Pacers’ career by shooting 31-34 FTS (.912), including his first 15 in a row. He finished the season as one of three Pacers’ players to shoot 80+ percent from the foul line (.802). Diogu had 25 assists for the season and that was four short of his total in 69 games for the Warriors as a rookie in 2005. Diogu matched a career-high with three assists in the Pacers’ win at Milwaukee on April 11th. After grabbing one steal in the Warriors’ season-opener against the Lakers on November 1st, Diogu went 14 straight games without a theft...he then had one in each of his final two games for Golden State, and totaled five steals for the Pacers, including one in consecutive games at Utah on March 7th, and vs. Philadelphia on March 10th. Ike had a total of 26 blocked shots for the season, including four games with two rejections apiece. Those four multi-blocked shot games were split evenly between the Warriors and the Pacers.

Indiana Pacers-2007:

Diogu scored 10+ points in each of the first three games of the season and averaged 13.7 ppg on 16-28 FGS (.571) and 9-9 FTS. In those first three games, he also had 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot in an average of 23.7 minutes a game. Starting on opening night for the injured Jermaine O'Neal (hyperextended knee), he scored 13 points with three rebounds in 22+ minutes vs. Washington. He had started three games in his Indiana career and two of them had been against the Wizards. Diogu led the Indiana bench with a season-high 16 points and six rebounds in the Pacers' win vs. the Miami Heat on November 2nd. Ike added an assist, a steal and a blocked shot in 26 minutes against the Heat. His seven field goals made vs. Miami tied his career-high. Following a 12-point outing in the game at Memphis on November 3rd, Diogu missed the next 23 games--20 on the inactive list with a torn right calf muscle and three DNP-CD. In his first game back from the injury, he scored 10 points and shot 4-6 from the floor and 2-4 FTS at Minnesota on December 21st. It would be nearly two months before he would score in double figures again and he did so just two more times the rest of the season, including 6-6 FTS and 4-8 FGS, he scored 14 points at Detroit on Febuary 13th. He matched his season-high with 16 points on 6-8 FGS and 4-4 FTS at New Jersey on March 26th. After missing the second of two free throws vs. the Atlanta Hawks on January 4th, he connected on 19 straight free throws until missing the second of two in the final three minutes vs. Miami on March 31st. Prior to that game with the Hawks, he had shot just 10-16 FTS (.625) in his first eight appearances after the injury. Collecting 10+ rebounds for just the third time in his 71 games for the Pacers, Diogu narrowly missed registering a double-double with 10 boards and nine points at Detroit on December 28th. His 10 rebounds against the Pistons featured a season-high six offensive boards and that matched his total of offensive rebounds in his first six appearances of the season. For the season, he averaged 2.8 rpg and had at least four boards seven times, and had at least one offensive rebound in 20 games, including 11 of his last 16 appearances. Diogu had three or more offensive rebounds four times, including five against the New Jersey Nets on March 26th, six vs the Detroit Pistons on December 28th, three vs. the Atlanta Hawks on January 4th, and three vs the Philadelphia 76ers on January 21st. Diogu had nine assists that season, including two each in three games at the Memphis Grizzles on November 3rd, at the Philadelphia 76ers on January 21st, and at the New Jersey Nets on March 26th. Grabbing more than one steal for the first time in a Pacers' uniform, Ike had a career-best three at Atlanta on December 26th. For the season, he had a total of seven steals.

Portland Trail Blazers/Sacramento Kings-2008:

On June 26, 2008, the night of the NBA Draft, 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 played very little in his time with Portland, played in only 19 games for that season, averaging 1.4 points and 0.9 rebounds in 3.8 minutes per game. Portland GM Kevin Pritchard had this to say about his new players “We had a lot of flexibility heading into this year’s NBA Draft,” said Pritchard. “Ultimately though we only wanted to make moves that made our team better, both on and off the court. In acquiring Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu we think we achieved that. Bayless will make our backcourt more athletic. He’s a proven scorer and a tenacious competitor. In Diogu we have a young NBA player with a whole lot of potential that really helps fill a positional need for us. And, perhaps most importantly, both of these players fit our culture of character, hard work and winning attitudes.

On Febuary 18th, 2009, Diogu was traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Michael Ruffin. In Sacramento, Diogu didnt play much, except for the last 5 games of the season. In his final five games, he averaged 20.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 29.3 minutes, and provided a physical presence at both ends. Bobby Jackson of the Kings said that Diogu was "killing it in practice against our big man" and wondered "why Ike dosent get playing time". In the final 2 games of the season, Diogu scored a career high 32 points and had 13 rebounds at Denver on April 13th, and had a game high 28 points and 11 boards on April 15th, the last game of the season. The Kings have not resigned Diogu yet, but they were impressed with his last 2 games, and they are trying to work out a deal to get him atleast one more year in Sacramento.

New Orleans Hornets-2009:

On July 29th, 2009, the New Orleans Hornets agreed to a free agent contract with Diogu.