Ike Diogu’s jersey will be raised in rafters by Arizona State basketball
Nov 30, 2021, 2:11 PM | Updated: Dec 1, 2021, 9:17 am
Ike Diogu #5 of the Arizona State Sun Devils looks on against the UCLA Bruins during their NCAA game on January 16, 2003 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. Arizona State defeated UCLA 75-64. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
Ike Diogu will have his No. 5 jersey number put in the Desert Financial Arena rafters and honored by the Arizona State Sun Devils when his college team faces Colorado on Jan. 15, 2022.
The big man, who played for ASU from 2002-05, was the first Sun Devil to earn consensus All-American honors in 2004-05. That same season, he became the first player in Pac-10 history to lead the conference in scoring (22.6), rebounding (9.8) and blocked shots (2.3).
A year before that, Diogu helped ASU break a drought in the NCAA Tournament. Behind Diogu’s 22 points, the Sun Devils won a game against Memphis in March 2003, the program’s first victory in the Big Dance since 1995.
For his college career, the big man averaged 21.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Diogu was drafted by the Golden State Warriors ninth overall in 2005 and played in the NBA through 2012.
He’s also appeared in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics for the Nigerian national team.
The 38-year-old is still playing. In the group stage of the FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers on Sunday, Diogu led Nigeria to a win against Uganda with a 22-point, 10-rebound performance.
Fans who would like to see Diogu’s jersey enter the rafters at Desert Financial Arena can purchase tickets to the ASU-Colorado game here.
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