Boubacar Richard Aw (born June 22, 1975) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in

Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-L ...

, Aw moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1993 and he played

high school basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina Lake Waccamaw is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 census population was 1,480. Originally home to Native Americans, Europeans later colonized Lake Waccamaw in the 18th century. The Europeans built naval stores and ...

; 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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. He was also a member of the

Senegalese national basketball team The Senegal national basketball team ( French: ''Équipe de basketball du Senegal'') represents Senegal in men's international basketball and it is overseen by Federation Senegalaise de basketball, five time a gold medallist (in 1968, 1972, 19 ...

, with which he won the gold medal during the

1997 FIBA Africa Championship The FIBA Africa Championship 1997 was hosted by Senegal from July 25 to August 3, 1997. The games were played in Dakar. The top two countries in this FIBA Africa Championship earned the two berths allocated to Africa for the 1998 FIBA World Ch ...

and participated in the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

. After retiring from playing basketball, Aw has become a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and youth basketball coach.

High school career

Aw was born in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

into a numerous family: his father had

three wives Three Wives is a 7,450-foot-elevation (2,271 meter) mountain summit located in North Cascades National Park, in Chelan County of Washington state. It is situated in the Methow Mountains, a subset of the North Cascades. Neighbors include Hock Mo ...

, and Aw had 19

half-siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separat ...

. Growing up in Senegal he spoke

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

. He played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

in his childhood, but when he became significantly taller than his peers he turned to

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, playing at

US Rail US Rail is a Senegalese football club based in Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at ...

in Thiès. During a youth basketball tournament, Aw met

Craig Esherick Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956) is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball games ...

, who at the time was an assistant coach at Georgetown, and was invited to move to the United States to attend Georgetown. Helped by John Jacques, a basketball player from

Delco, North Carolina Delco (formerly Brinkly, New Berlin, and Pershing) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 348 at the 2010 census. Geography Delco is located near the e ...

who was playing at Georgetown, Aw moved to the

in 1993, being hosted by Gary Battle, a teacher and basketball coach at East Columbus High School in

. Aw did not know

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

when he arrived in the US, but he nevertheless graduated from high school in one year, and in 1993–94 he was named All Columbus Basketball Player of the Year.

College career

Aw signed to play for Georgetown in 1994. There he found another Senegalese player,

Cheikh Yaya Dia 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 ...

, who was a sophomore in 1994–95. In his first season at Georgetown under coach John Thompson, Aw played 30 games, playing as a backup

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He was the 6th best rebounder (2.5) and the 8th best scorer (4 points per game) on the team in his freshman year, and had his highest-scoring performance with 17 points against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...

on February 14, 1995. In his sophomore season, coach Thompson promoted Aw to a starting role, alongside Jerome Williams. That season, two more African players joined Georgetown:

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n Godwin Owinje and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

ian Joseph Touomou, bringing the total of African players in the team roster to 4 (Aw, Dia, Owinje and Touomou). Aw started 37 games during the season, with his best performance coming again against UConn on February 19, 1996 (11 points and 5 rebounds). He averaged 4.5 points and 3 rebounds, playing 18.8 minutes per game, and participated in the 1996 NCAA tournament, during which Georgetown reached the Elite Eight, where they lost to UMass. During the NCAA Tournament, Aw scored a tournament-high 8 points against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

on March 21, after posting 6 rebounds against

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

on March 17. As a junior, Aw had a more relevant role in the team, following the graduation of seniors

Othella Harrington Othella Harrington (born January 31, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with future NBA supers ...

and Jerome Williams. He started all 30 games, playing 20.7 minutes, and had a season high 16 points, along with 9 rebounds, in the March 14, 1997 game against

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

during the 1997 NCAA tournament. Aw saw an improvement in his offensive contribution, increasing his scoring average to 7.4 points per game, and was the third-best rebounder on the team with 5 per game (behind Dia and

Jahidi White Jahidi White (born February 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA. Basketball career Jahidi White attended high school at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. While at Ritter, White teamed with future Du ...

); he also shot a career-high 53.9% from the field. In his senior season, Aw was named team captain. On January 20, 1998 Aw posted new career highs with 21 points and 18 rebounds against

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. He then recorded a new career high in scoring with 24 points on February 17, 1998 against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Aw's senior season was marked by increased offensive assignments, due to injuries to Jahidi White and freshman Cameroonian center

Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Ruben Bertrand Boumtje-Boumtje (born May 20, 1978) is a Cameroonian professional basketball executive and former player who last served as the assistant general manager of the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball ...

, and Aw had career-highs in points (11.4, second on the team behind Shernard Long) and rebounds (6.2, second behind White).

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" , Georgetown , 30 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .522 , , .000 , , .581 , , 2.5 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Georgetown , 37 , , 37 , , 18.8 , , .507 , , .000 , , .417 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" , Georgetown , 30 , , 30 , , 20.7 , , .539 , , .000 , , .544 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" , Georgetown , 31 , , 31 , , 27.4 , , .516 , , .000 , , .550 , , 6.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 128 , , 98 , , 20.7 , , .521 , , .000 , , .532 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 6.7 , -

Professional career

After his senior season at Georgetown, Aw was automatically eligible for the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

, but he was not selected by an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

franchise. In December 1998 he signed a professional contract for

Belgrano de San Nicolás Club Belgrano de San Nicolás is a professional basketball team in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South Amer ...

of the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

. In his first season as a professional, Aw averaged 20 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 58% from the field over 32 games (35.4 minutes per game). He stayed with Belgrano also for the following season, during which he posted averages of 18.5 points and 6 rebounds per game, with a 65% field goal percentage. In 2000 he played for

Gimnasia La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

in the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso, the second tier of Argentine basketball, and averaged 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He then went back to Belgrano for the 2000–01 season, playing 24 games (18.1 points, 5.9 rebounds per game). In 2001 he joined Regatas San Nicolás, another LNB team, and he appeared in 32 league games, averaging 17.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 34.8 minutes of playing time. In 2003 he moved to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for the first time in his career, and signed for

La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal The Club Deportivo La Ola del Distrito Federal, also known simply as ''La Ola'' or ''La Ola Roja'' (the red wave) were a professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The team participated in the first edition of the Liga Nacional de Balonce ...

, a team of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

which played in the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

, participating in the

2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

. In early 2004 he left to join

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an club Universidad Católica, participating in the 2004

Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol The Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (Portuguese: ''Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete'', English: ''South American Basketball League''), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the secon ...

during which he averaged 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. In February 2004 he signed for

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata, in the , on the south east of the Greater Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and it is the seat of the Quilmes Partido, eponymous county. With a population of 230 ...

, playing 23 games (13.1 points, 6.7 rebounds) in the Argentine LNB. After playing another season in Mexico with Ola Roja in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and earned an all-star selection. He then signed for

Estudiantes de Olavarría Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Olavarría, is an Argentine sports club based in Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province. Club's nickname is ''Albinegro''. Estudiantes gained notoriety in late 1990s when the basketball team ...

in late December 2004, and played 9 games in Argentina (18.3 points, 5.6 rebounds) before leaving the team in February 2005. Later that year he signed for Fuerza Guinda de Nogales, a Mexican team that participated in the CIBACOPA, averaging 22.7 points per game. In 2006 he signed again for Ola Roja, taking part in the 2006 LNBP season and receiving an All-Star selection. Aw then spent the 2007–08 LNBP season with Pioneros de Quintana Roo, with which he also played in the 2008–09 FIBA Americas League (14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds per game).

National team career

With the Senegalese national team, Aw was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the

. He then took part in the

, playing 5 games averaging 5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks: he scored 10 points against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. According to Senegalese press agency ''Agence de Presse Sénégalaise'', Aw and teammate Cheikh Yaya Dia did not accept any call-up from the national team after 1998.

References

External links

Career stats at ProBallers.comProfile at RealGM.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aw, Boubacar 1975 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Belgrano de San Nicolás basketball players Centers (basketball) Estudiantes de Olavarría basketball players Fuerza Guinda de Nogales players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata basketball players Halcones UV Córdoba players La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal players Pioneros de Quintana Roo players Power forwards (basketball) Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Argentina Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Mexico Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Sportspeople from Thiès