Daniel Gregg Santiago (born June 24, 1976) is a Puerto Rican basketball coach at IMG Academy and former professional basketball player. A center, he had a collegiate career in the NCAA and NAIA. His professional career saw him play in the

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 ...

, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional of Puerto Rico, and overseas. Santiago has played for the

Puerto Rican national team Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

since 1998 until 2014, including been part of the 2004 team that defeated the United States at the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Greece.

College career

Santiago attended and played Junior College basketball at New Mexico Military Institute in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

and played NCAA Division I basketball at the University of New Mexico. He finished up his collegiate career at the NAIA school of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he was named NAIA player of the year. In 2019 Daniel Santiago obtained a college degree in General Studies with concentrations in Social Work, Sociology and History from the University of South Florida.

Professional career

In Puerto Rico, Santiago played professionally on the

National Superior Basketball League The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Nacio ...

with the '' Vaqueros'', helping the team to various national championships and tournament finals. Between 1998 and 2000, he played for

Varese Roosters Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA. For past club spo ...

of the Italian Serie A. From 2000 to 2001 he played for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

as a back-up center until being released. He returned to the NBA in 2003, playing two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2005, Santiago signed for a season with

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

. After winning the 2006 league, he signed a further two-year deal with the Andalusia outfit. In 2008, Santiago signed with Regal FC Barcelona, helping the side to a third finish in the

2008–09 Euroleague The 2008–09 Euroleague was the 9th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 52nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs o ...

. In July 2009, Santiago came back to the BSN after a 7-year absence, joining the Bayamón Cowboys. In September 2009 he signed with

Efes Pilsen S.K. Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü ( en, Anadolu Efes Sports Club), formerly known as Efes Pilsen, is a Turkish professional basketball team based in Istanbul, Turkey. Efes is the most recent Euroleague champion and on the first place of European Club ...

of Turkey. In October 2010 he signed with

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Charleroi, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome whi ...

. In January 2011 he joined Capitanes de Arecibo. In September 2012, Santiago signed with

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

in Argentina. In March 2013, he was selected as the league's best center for the season. In May 2013, he joined the Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.

National team career

In 2002, Santiago represented senior the

at the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

2002 FIBA World Cup The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

, and he also played inm the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

team that handed the United States their first defeat in Olympic play, since they began using

players. Santiago again represented Puerto Rico at the

2006 World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

. He retired from the national side in 2007, only to return the following year.

Personal

Santiago's paternal grandfather, Pedro Santiago Rodríguez, was a well known baseball player in Puerto Rico and emigrated to the United States to play. Due to his small stature he was nicknamed "

Jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

", while grandson Daniel received the "El Gigante" (the giant) moniker. Puerto Rico's Jockey Rodríguez retired from baseball with the Albuquerque Dukes team under the name Pedro Santiago. Santiago was raised in the West Texas area of Lamesa on a cotton farm and later in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

where his parents, Stan and Diana Santiago, originated. He has two younger brothers, Matthew and Jarrett Santiago.

Career statistics

NBA

Santiago's

stats in 122 games were: 417 points (3.4 per game), 260 rebounds (2.1 per game), 38 assists (0.3 per game), 39 steals (0.3 per game) and 47 blocks (0.4 per game). He shot a .469

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

percentage, and a .685 free throw percentage.

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

, 19 , , 18 , , 24.8 , , .641 , , .000 , , .641 , , 5.6 , , .6 , , .6 , , .7 , , 12.9 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 22 , , 17 , , 22.4 , , .601 , , , , .549 , , 4.9 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .9 , , 11.1 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 17 , , 13 , , 17.4 , , .679 , , , , .684 , , 4.2 , , .4 , , .5 , , .7 , , 9.0 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Barcelona , style="background:#CFECEC;", 23* , , 20 , , 14.8 , , .552 , , .000 , , .762 , , 2.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.4 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Efes , 15 , , 2 , , 10.6 , , .651 , , .000 , , .829 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .1 , , .7 , , 5.7 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

, 9 , , 8 , , 13.2 , , .476 , , , , .611 , , 3.3 , , .3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 5.7 , , 6.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 105 , , 78 , , 17.9 , , .609 , , .000 , , .648 , , 4.0 , , .6 , , .5 , , .7 , , 8.8 , , 10.6

College career

Professional career

National team career

Personal

Career statistics

NBA

EuroLeague

Domestic leagues

See also

References

External links