by Craig Morgan, thesundevils.com Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil great Ike Diogu views the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as unfinished business. The approach works on personal and team levels.
Diogu's Nigerian men's basketball team would like to do more than simply qualify for the Olympics, as it did for the first time at the 2012 London Games when it finished 10th, and as it did this time around when it defeated Angola, 74–65, to win the African Basketball Nations Cup for the first time.
"I really think we could be a top-five team in the world," Diogu said. "But for me, the goal is the same. You always want to keep hope alive of playing in the NBA. I'm in the best shape of my life so my goal is to win all the individual matchups and try to show them I belong."
Diogu's 11-year pro career has been a Homeric Odyssey, with Diogu never seeming to find his home but always making a living. Since Golden State selected him with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Diogu has played for the Warriors (2005-07), Indiana Pacers (2007-08), Portland Trail Blazers (2008-09), Sacramento Kings (2009), Los Angeles Clippers (2010-11), San Antonio Spurs (2012), Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China, 2012), Capitanes de Arecibo (Puerto Rico, 2012), Guangdong Southern Tigers (2012-13), Leones de Ponce (Puerto Rico, 2013), Bakersfield Jam (NBA D-League, 2013-14), Leones de Ponce (2014), Dongguan Leopards (China, 2014-15) and he is currently back with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
When the Spurs waived Diogu on Jan. 11, 2012, he set a goal of earning his way back into the world's top league at the London Games that summer.
"I felt I was one of the top players in the Olympics," said Diogu, who averaged 14.8 points and nine rebounds per game, including a 27-point, seven-rebound effort against the United States. "I felt I played well, really that whole summer, and put out a top body of work against top NBA big men. I dominated a bunch of them and all that is documented so the fact that it didn't lead to a legitimate shot in the NBA was disappointing."
Time is running out on that dream for Diogu, who will turn 33 in September, but the thrill of representing Nigeria is just as strong as the drive to play in the NBA. Diogu's parents were both born in Nigeria, but moved to the U.S. in 1980 to pursue further education. Diogu won Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2003 under coach Rob Evans, and he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in his junior and final season at ASU.
"They tell me how proud of me they are all the time," Diogu said of his parents. "Even though they were here a long time and I grew up here, it means a lot to them and to me to let everybody know that we haven't forgotten about them and Nigeria is still special to us.
"It always chokes my dad up when he talks about me playing for them. From a patriotic standpoint, we still are Nigerians so to be able to represent that place and the village my parents are from is big because I know all those guys follow me closely."
Diogu has no plans to stray from the Nigerian team he will captain this summer. If he can play in the 2020 Games in Tokyo, he will.
"I made a commitment back in 2011 to pretty much give my services to the national team from then until I retire from basketball," he said. "It's important to me because I think Nigeria has a lot of talent and if we ever got the country's top prospects to play, which we have now, we could show just how good we are."
Among the other notable names on Nigeria's roster are Detroit Pistons guard Michael Gbinije and Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
If Diogu doesn't earn another NBA shot, he'll probably return to China. He admits that seeing the world by playing in Puerto Rico and China has been fascinating, and he wouldn't mind playing in Europe before he retires. China has offered unexpected bonuses.
Diogu has his clothes custom made because they are cheap and of high quality. He also attracts quite a crowd when he ventures out of his home and into the streets.
"My Mandarin is terrible," Diogu said, laughing, "but the people are so nice and they're always in awe when they see a big person of color walking down the street. They always want to take their picture with me."
Diogu started Nigeria's training on Monday in Los Angeles. The team played a tournament in China from July 2-9, returned to L.A., sandwiched around some games in Vegas. Nigeria faces Team USA on Aug. 2 in Houston, and then it's off to Rio.
Before heading to training camp, Diogu, a 2015 Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was in the Valley last week at the condo he keeps here, and he is keeping close tabs on the Sun Devil men's basketball program.
"Coach (Bobby) Hurley was a great hire," Diogu said. "He's going to bring excitement and a level of recruit to the program that hasn't been here in years. I still bleed maroon and gold and I will 'til the day I die. I'm just excited to see this program take off."
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil great Ike Diogu views the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as unfinished business. The approach works on personal and team levels.
Diogu's Nigerian men's basketball team would like to do more than simply qualify for the Olympics, as it did for the first time at the 2012 London Games when it finished 10th, and as it did this time around when it defeated Angola, 74–65, to win the African Basketball Nations Cup for the first time.
"I really think we could be a top-five team in the world," Diogu said. "But for me, the goal is the same. You always want to keep hope alive of playing in the NBA. I'm in the best shape of my life so my goal is to win all the individual matchups and try to show them I belong."
Diogu's 11-year pro career has been a Homeric Odyssey, with Diogu never seeming to find his home but always making a living. Since Golden State selected him with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Diogu has played for the Warriors (2005-07), Indiana Pacers (2007-08), Portland Trail Blazers (2008-09), Sacramento Kings (2009), Los Angeles Clippers (2010-11), San Antonio Spurs (2012), Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China, 2012), Capitanes de Arecibo (Puerto Rico, 2012), Guangdong Southern Tigers (2012-13), Leones de Ponce (Puerto Rico, 2013), Bakersfield Jam (NBA D-League, 2013-14), Leones de Ponce (2014), Dongguan Leopards (China, 2014-15) and he is currently back with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.
When the Spurs waived Diogu on Jan. 11, 2012, he set a goal of earning his way back into the world's top league at the London Games that summer.
"I felt I was one of the top players in the Olympics," said Diogu, who averaged 14.8 points and nine rebounds per game, including a 27-point, seven-rebound effort against the United States. "I felt I played well, really that whole summer, and put out a top body of work against top NBA big men. I dominated a bunch of them and all that is documented so the fact that it didn't lead to a legitimate shot in the NBA was disappointing."
Time is running out on that dream for Diogu, who will turn 33 in September, but the thrill of representing Nigeria is just as strong as the drive to play in the NBA. Diogu's parents were both born in Nigeria, but moved to the U.S. in 1980 to pursue further education. Diogu won Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors in 2003 under coach Rob Evans, and he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year in his junior and final season at ASU.
"They tell me how proud of me they are all the time," Diogu said of his parents. "Even though they were here a long time and I grew up here, it means a lot to them and to me to let everybody know that we haven't forgotten about them and Nigeria is still special to us.
"It always chokes my dad up when he talks about me playing for them. From a patriotic standpoint, we still are Nigerians so to be able to represent that place and the village my parents are from is big because I know all those guys follow me closely."
Diogu has no plans to stray from the Nigerian team he will captain this summer. If he can play in the 2020 Games in Tokyo, he will.
"I made a commitment back in 2011 to pretty much give my services to the national team from then until I retire from basketball," he said. "It's important to me because I think Nigeria has a lot of talent and if we ever got the country's top prospects to play, which we have now, we could show just how good we are."
Among the other notable names on Nigeria's roster are Detroit Pistons guard Michael Gbinije and Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
If Diogu doesn't earn another NBA shot, he'll probably return to China. He admits that seeing the world by playing in Puerto Rico and China has been fascinating, and he wouldn't mind playing in Europe before he retires. China has offered unexpected bonuses.
Diogu has his clothes custom made because they are cheap and of high quality. He also attracts quite a crowd when he ventures out of his home and into the streets.
"My Mandarin is terrible," Diogu said, laughing, "but the people are so nice and they're always in awe when they see a big person of color walking down the street. They always want to take their picture with me."
Diogu started Nigeria's training on Monday in Los Angeles. The team played a tournament in China from July 2-9, returned to L.A., sandwiched around some games in Vegas. Nigeria faces Team USA on Aug. 2 in Houston, and then it's off to Rio.
Before heading to training camp, Diogu, a 2015 Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was in the Valley last week at the condo he keeps here, and he is keeping close tabs on the Sun Devil men's basketball program.
"Coach (Bobby) Hurley was a great hire," Diogu said. "He's going to bring excitement and a level of recruit to the program that hasn't been here in years. I still bleed maroon and gold and I will 'til the day I die. I'm just excited to see this program take off."