Abu Kigab

Abu Kigab
Kigab with Boise State in 2020
No. 14 – PS Karlsruhe Lions
PositionSmall forward
Personal information
Born (1998-11-03) November 3, 1998 (age 26)
Khartoum, Sudan
NationalitySudanese / Canadian
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2022: undrafted
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022Niagara River Lions
2023Ottawa BlackJacks
2023Spišskí Rytieri
2024MLP Academics Heidelberg
2024−presentPS Karlsruhe Lions
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Canada
FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship
Silver medal – second place 2016 Chile Team
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2017 Egypt Team

Abu Haef Kigab (born November 3, 1998) is a Sudanese-Canadian professional basketball player for the PS Karlsruhe Lions of the German second-tier league ProA. He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and for the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. He was a key player on a Canada team that won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2017.

Early life

Born in Khartoum, Sudan to Sultan Kigab, Kigab moved to St. Catharines, Ontario with his family at age nine.[1] He attended Queen Mary Public School and St. Francis Catholic Secondary School and joined the Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, California in 2015.[2]

Kigab was tabbed a breakout performer at Basketball Without Borders in 2016 and was ranked a four-star recruit in the class of 2017 by Scout and ESPN.[3]

He committed to playing college basketball for Oregon in March 2017,[4] having also considered Illinois, Baylor, California, Kansas, Minnesota, USC and Virginia Tech.[5]

College career

University of Oregon (2017-2019)

Kigab played his freshman and sophomore season at University of Oregon. During his freshman year, he played in 35 of 36 games as one of the team's top defenders off the bench. As a sophomore, Kigab averaged 2.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 10 games. He transferred to Boise State University at the end of the fall quarter during his sophomore season.[6]

Boise State University (2019-2022)

After transferring to Boise State, Kigab had to sit out the second half of the season due to NCAA transfer rules.

During his junior year, he appeared in 20 games, starting in 18. He averaged 11.1 points and 3.6 rebounds. He was fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding. He missed two games with a hip pointer. Kigab became eligible at the conclusion of the first semester, after gaining his full year of academic residency.

During his senior year, Kigab was All-Mountain West Second Team and All-Mountain West Third Team. He started in 25 games and averaged 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He led the Broncos with 22 blocked shots. Kigab missed final three games after suffering a shoulder injury in the regular season finale.

Kigab did a fifth year at Boise State. He was All-Mountain West Second Team and Mountain West Championship MVP. He started all 35 games and averaged 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds. and 2.4 assists.[7]

Professional career

Niagara River Lions (2022)

After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft, Kigab joined the Toronto Raptors Summer League roster in Las Vegas, recording a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the final game against Milwaukee.[8][9]

On October 24, 2022, Kigab joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants training camp roster.[10] However, he did not make the final roster.

Kigab appeared in two games for Niagara River Lions during the 2022 CEBL season.

Ottawa BlackJacks (2023)

The Ottawa BlackJacks announced they had signed Kigab on May 5, 2023.[11] He tallied 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in his debut against Montreal.

Spišskí Rytieri (2023)

On August 27, 2023, Kigab signed with Spišskí Rytieri of the Slovak Basketball League.[12] In 18 league games, he averaged 19.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2 assists per contest.[13]

MLP Academics Heidelberg (2024)

On January 2, 2024, he inked a deal with the MLP Academics Heidelberg of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[14] Kigab averaged 8.6 points in 12 Bundesliga contests[15] and parted company with the team at the end of the 2023-24 season.[16]

PS Karlsruhe Lions (2024−present)

In November 2024, Kigab was signed by the PS Karlsruhe Lions of the German second-tier league ProA.[17]

National team career

Kigab competed for Canada at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup and the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. In July 2017, he was a key player on a Canada team that captured gold at the FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 14.7 points and 10.6 rebounds, as well as 2.3 assists per game. For his efforts, he was named to the tournament's All-Star Five.[18]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Oregon 35 0 7.7 .344 .227 .409 1.1 .2 .4 .2 1.6
2018–19 Oregon 10 3 14.9 .440 .091 .600 2.7 1.8 .2 .0 2.6
2019–20 Boise State 20 18 25.8 .420 .328 .734 3.6 1.0 .7 .3 11.1
2020–21 Boise State 25 25 28.0 .467 .301 .716 5.4 2.0 1.2 .9 11.8
2021–22 Boise State 35 35 31.5 .500 .301 .677 5.7 2.4 1.3 .4 14.8
Career 125 81 121.9 .461 .293 .680 3.8 1.4 .8 .4 8.9

References

  1. ^ James, Marty. "Prolific Prep pulls out of international game in face of immigration uncertainty". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  2. ^ James, Marty. "Oregon next stop in worldwide journey for Prolific Prep's Kigab". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "Abu Kigab has strong showing at BWB". Scout.com. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Krupke, Nick. "Abu Kigab commits to University of Oregon". Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  5. ^ "Abu Kigab, 4-star SF, commits to Oregon Ducks". OregonLive.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. ^ "Abu Kigab - Men's Basketball". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "Abu Kigab - Men's Basketball". Boise State University Athletics. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  8. ^ Zatzman, Louis (July 1, 2022). "Prepping for the Toronto Raptors' Summer League team - Raptors Republic". RaptorsRepublic.com. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  9. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks vs Toronto Raptors Jul 17, 2022 Box Scores". NBA.com. July 17, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Mad Ants Announce 2022 Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "Ottawa BlackJacks Sign Canadian Forward Abu Kigab". TheBlackJacks.ca. May 5, 2023. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Antoni, Adam (August 27, 2023). "RYTIERI FINALIZUJÚ SÚPISKU, PRIBUDOL KANADSKÝ ŠAMPIÓN". SpisskiRytieri.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  13. ^ "Spisski Rytieri Nova Ves Statistics, Season: 2023-2024". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Birkelbach, Eva (January 2, 2024). "MLP Academics: Neuzugang Abu Kigab gilt als harter Arbeiter". MLP Academics Heidelberg (in German). Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Abu Kigab". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "BBL-Wechselbörse 2024: alle Transfers und Kader". basketball.de (in German). Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  17. ^ "Abu Kigab wird ein Löwe". PS Karlsruhe Lions (in German). November 25, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  18. ^ "Payton Pritchard and Abu Kigab named to World Cup All-Star Team". DuckTerritory. Retrieved July 9, 2017.