Ilimane Diop Gaye (born 4 April 1995) is a professional

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 ...

player for

UCAM Murcia UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball team based in Murcia, Spain. It plays their home games at Palacio de Deportes. History Founded in 1985 u ...

in the

Liga ACB 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 ...

. Although he was born in Senegal, Diop officially represents

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

when being on international duty since he was a baby when his family settled in Spain. Previously, he has led their junior teams to multiple bronze medals.

Professional career

A product of Spanish powerhouse

Saski Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

, Diop was sent out on loan to minor league team to gain playing time and experience. He made his debut for Baskonia in the Spanish top-flight

in the course of the 2013-14 campaign. An early entry candidate for the 2016 NBA draft, he later withdrew his name. On July 10, 2021, he has signed with

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

of the Spanish

. On July 5, 2022,

released Diop. On July 13, 2022, he has signed with

in the

International career

After achieving a bronze medal with the under-16 team and the under-18 team, on 11 July 2016, Diop made his debut with the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

in a friendly game played in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

against

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. He scored four points and grabbed three rebounds to collaborate in the win by 85–61.

Player profile

Standing 6'11" with a wingspan of 7'11" feet, Diop is regarded as one of the most potent players in the

and possibly a future NBA draft selection. Length has been an inevitable problem for his opponents, who have struggled against the pick-and-roll and rebounds. He is also noted for his raw talent that could grow into a "great basketball body." Balance, footwork, and strength have remained intangibles for the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Personal life

His brother

Mamadou Mamadou is a common given name in West Africa among predominantly Muslim ethnic groups such as the Mandé and Wolof people. It is a variant of the Arabic name Muhammad. Academics *Mamadou Diouf (historian), Senegalese professor of West African hi ...

is also a basketball player who previously played in the same Spanish basketball squad as he did.

References

External links

Ilimane Diop
at acb.com
Ilimane Diop
at eurobasket.com
Ilimane Diop
at euroleague.net

at FIBA * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diop, Ilimane 1995 births Living people Araberri BC players Basketball players from Dakar CB Gran Canaria players CB Murcia players Centers (basketball) European sportspeople of Senegalese descent Liga ACB players Naturalised citizens of Spain Saski Baskonia players Senegalese emigrants to Spain Spanish men's basketball players Spanish people of Senegalese descent Spanish sportspeople of African descent