Former Panther Signs Professional Contract Overseas

Dieng signing his overseas contract. Photo by FIU Athletics.

Richard Gibson/Contributing Writer

One of FIU’s top basketball players from the past couple of years, center Elhadji Dieng has signed a professional contract with the Leuven Bears, a team in the EuroMillions Basketball league in Belgium.

 The EuroMillions League, also known as the Pro Basketball league, has 10 total teams and has been around with 1928. The Leuven Bears have been around for 20 years and won the Belgian Cup in 2004.

 The league follows the International Basketball Association (FIBA) ruleset, which is slightly different than that of the NBA. Some of these include a 40-minute game clock that’s shorter than the NBA’s 48-minute game clock, having two referees on the court instead of three, and only needing five fouls to be disqualified instead of six.

 Dieng, who is from Mbour, Senegal, began playing for FIU in his junior year of college. Before that, he played his freshman year at New Mexico Junior College, and then transferred to Sheridan College for his sophomore year. He played high school basketball at the Canaris Basketball Academy in Spain.

  In 2018 alone, Dieng scored 71 points, and his 11-point game against Green Bay was his career-high. He also recorded 80 rebounds, nine steals, seven blocks, and four assists. In his total time at FIU, he played 55 total games and recorded 91 points, 125 rebounds, 22 blocks, 10 steals, and five assists.

 His performance in 2018 helped power the Panthers to 20 wins, which was only one win shy of breaking the school record. The 2018 Panthers also won their first-ever postseason game in franchise history after beating Texas State in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament.

 Impressive as his performance was on the court, his accolades off the court are just as remarkable. Dieng was named to the Conference-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll twice and received the Conference USA Jim Castaneda Postgraduate Scholarship in 2018 for his efforts in the classroom.

 Dieng also received the Conference USA Academic Medal, given to student-athletes who maintain a 3.75 GPA. He graduated with a degree in liberal studies and is currently working on a post-graduate degree in recreation and management.

   With Dieng leaving, FIU’s basketball program will have to find a worthy center to replace him. The 2019-2020 season will begin in early November, and the team is looking to return to the postseason for the second time in school history.

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