Thierno Ibrahima Niang (born March 8, 1990) is a Senegalese

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 who plays for

Jeanne d'Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

of the NM1. He 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 ...

with the

Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball The Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. They play their home games at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisco ...

team, although a nagging back injury reduced his role from impact starter to reserve. Niang also competes at international events with the Senegal national team. He played the sport in high school at

Bridgton Academy Bridgton Academy is an all-male college preparatory school, college preparatory in Bridgton, Maine. Founded in 1808, the school sits at the northern tip of Long Lake in North Bridgton, Maine. The school has been NEASC accredited since 1934, making ...

and went on to represent

Triton College Triton College is a public community college in River Grove, Illinois. History Junior College District 300 was voted into existence in a referendum in March 1964. In March 1965, a second referendum was passed approving the purchase of an campus ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Early life

Niang was born in the town of Medina Gounass in

Dakar, Senegal Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 20 ...

to Cheiilh Niang and Ndgye Penda Tall. He 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 ...

three years before reaching high school.

College career

After completing his years in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, Niang represented the

as the team's basketball star. He averaged 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in his freshman season. Niang finished recording 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals on average per game as a sophomore. The team finished with a 27-5 mark in his final season with the Trojans. Niang orally committed to join the Milwaukee Panthers basketball team and attend

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

on May 10, 2012. He was not rated by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

or any other major sports recruiting website. Niang joined with two years of eligibility remaining with Donald Thomas and Jordan Aaron. He made his collegiate debut on November 8, 2013 against

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It ha ...

, with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists as the starting guard. This would be Niang's season-high scoring total and one of six starts as a freshman. He suffered a stress fracture in his lower back as the season continued and ultimately ended up a spectator. Niang said, "It happened a little bit earlier and I was able to play with it. But one day it got really bad, and that's when I couldn't even move. When it first happened it was scary, because it was my first back injury. I really thought maybe I wouldn't ever be able to play basketball again. That was the first thing that was kind of in my mind" after the team's annual Tipoff Luncheon at the

UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (originally the Milwaukee Arena and formerly MECCA Arena and U.S. Cellular Arena) is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers of floor space, is ...

. He finished the year averaging 3.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14 appearances. His most notable display took place against

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

, when he grabbed 12 total rebounds. At the conclusion of his sophomore season, Niang averaged 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He scored a season-high 10 points against Loyola Chicago, his only double-digit scoring performance.

Professional career

On December 15, 2014, Niang was signed by Al Geish Army of the

Egyptian Basketball Premier League The Egyptian Basketball Premier League () is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is contested by 16 teams, with the two lowest-placed te ...

. On 24 August 2016, Niang agreed terms with Spanish second league team RETAbet.es GBC. In 2018, he played with DUC Dakar in Senegal. In 2019 and 2020, he played for AS Douanes before returning to DUC. On August 9, 2021, Niang and DUC Dakar won its fifth national championship after defeating AS Douanes in the final. Niang was named also named the league's Finals MVP. After the 2022 season, in which Niang won the Senegalese Cup with DUC, he signed with league rivals

International career

Niang made his first

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

event appearance with

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

at the

2011 FIBA Africa Championship AfroBasket 2011 was the 26th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. At stake is the berth allocated to Africa in th ...

. He averaged 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, helping the team finish in 5th place. Niang's name was named to the roster for the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

by head coach Cheikh Sarr shortly before the commencement of the tournament. He made his first-ever appearance playing at the level on August 30, 2014 against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

with one rebound and 0-of-1 shooting off the bench.

BAL career statistics

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, style="text-align:left;", DUC , 5 , , 2 , , 15.0 , , .188 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 2 , , 15.0 , , .188 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 1.8

Awards and accomplishments

Club

;DUC *

Nationale 1 The Division Excellence (DEX-H) is the top professional basketball league in Morocco. Founded in 1957, the league currently consists of 16 teams. The league is administered by the Royal Moroccan Basketball Federation (FRMBB). The current defendin ...

Champion: (2021) ;Gizupkoa *

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonces ...

Champion: (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) DUC * Senegalese Cup winner: (2022) * Dakar Municipal Cup winner: (2022)

Individual

Finals MVP: (2021)

References

External links

Profile at FEB.es
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niang, Thierno 1990 births Living people AS Douanes basketball players 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Liga ACB players Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball players Point guards Gipuzkoa Basket players DUC Dakar players Senegalese men's basketball players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Egypt Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Shooting guards Triton College alumni ASC Jeanne d'Arc basketball players