Kaniel Dickens (born July 21, 1978) is an American former 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. He was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the second round (50th pick overall) in the 2000 NBA draft.

College career

Dickens first played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Barton Junior College and then

Tyler Junior College Tyler Junior College (TJC) is a public community college in Tyler, Texas. It is one of the largest community colleges in Texas, with an enrollment of more than 12,500 credit students each year with an additional 20,000 continuing education enroll ...

. He ended his college career by playing two seasons at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

. At Idaho, Dickens averaged 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Professional career

In addition to being drafted 50th overall by the Jazz, Dickens was drafted 42nd by the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

and 21st by the

Las Vegas Silver Bandits The Las Vegas Silver Bandits were a team in the International Basketball League (IBL). They played at the Thomas and Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada in 1999. The team president was Michael A. Olsen. The V.P. of Basketball Operations was Cindy Ha ...

of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

. Dickens played the 2000–01 season for Ural Great in Russia.Kaniel Dickens Profie – Hoopshype.com
/ref> Dickens was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

on December 19, 2003 and appeared in 3 games for them during the 2003–04 season. He signed a 10-day contract with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

on 01/05/2005 and saw action in 11 games.

2007–08 season

Dickens began the 2007–2008 season with the

Colorado 14ers Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

of the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

. In 29 games (28 starts), prior to his NBA callup, Dickens averaged a team high 20.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. Dickens was selected to play in the 2008 D-League All-Star Game. On February 22, 2008, Dickens was signed to a ten-day contract with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

so they would have enough players to face the Washington Wizards that night, due to a depleted roster because of a blockbuster trade the day prior. Dickens saw his first action as a Cavalier on that very night, logging seven minutes with one rebound and a blocked shot. On March 3, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Dickens to a second ten-day contract. His contract expired on March 13, 2008 allowing Dickens to become a free agent. Dicken's final NBA game was played on March 6th, 2008 in a 96 - 107 loss to the Chicago Bulls. In his final game, Dickens recorded only 2 points and no other stats. In August 2008 he signed with Italian club S.S. Basket Napoli. He was waived in September and signed with

Pallacanestro Varese 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 basketball league system, Italian first ...

later that month. In August 2009 he signed a contract with the French Pro A team

SLUC Nancy Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...

. For the 2011 New Zealand NBL season, Dickens signed with the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...

.Ex NBA player heads to Southland Sharks
/ref>

References

External links