Boubacar Richard Aw (born June 22, 1975) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in

Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and Saint-Louis, ...

, Aw moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1993 and he played

high school basketball High school basketball, also known as prep basketball, is the sport of basketball as played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. Top high school athletes often go on to play college basketball after ...

Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina Lake Waccamaw is a town in Columbus County, North Carolina, Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,296 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Originally home to Native Americans, Europeans later colonized Lak ...

; he then went on to play 4 years in college at Georgetown. After graduating from college, Aw had a 10-year professional career in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. He was also a member of the

Senegalese national basketball team The Senegal national basketball team (French: ''Équipe de basketball du Senegal'') represents Senegal in men's international basketball and it is overseen by Federation Senegalaise de basketball, five time a gold medallist (in 1968, 1972, 1978, ...

, with which he won the gold medal during the 1997 FIBA Africa Championship and participated in the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece ...

. After retiring from playing basketball, Aw has become a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and youth basketball coach.

High school career

Aw was born in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

into a numerous family: his father had

three wives Three Wives is a mountain summit located in North Cascades National Park, in Chelan County of Washington state, USA. It is situated in the Methow Mountains, a subset of the North Cascades. Neighbors include Hock Mountain to the east-northeast ...

, and Aw had 19

half-siblings A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised ...

. Growing up in Senegal he spoke

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

. He played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in his childhood, but when he became significantly taller than his peers he turned to

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 (appro ...

, playing at

US Rail US Rail is a Senegalese football club based in Thiès Thiès (; ; Noon language, Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population of 391,253 in 2023. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road (Senegal), N2 road and at the junc ...

in Thiès. During a youth basketball tournament, Aw met

Craig Esherick Craig Robert Esherick (born November 1, 1956) is an American academic, lawyer, and former basketball coach who is currently an assistant professor of sport management for George Mason University and color commentator for college basketball games ...

, who at the time was an assistant coach at Georgetown, and was invited to move to the United States to attend Georgetown. Helped by John Jacques, a basketball player from

Delco, North Carolina Delco (formerly Brinkly, New Berlin, and Pershing) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 287 at the 2020 census. Geography Delco is located near t ...

who was playing at Georgetown, Aw moved to the

in 1993, being hosted by Gary Battle, a teacher and basketball coach at East Columbus High School in

. Aw did not know

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

when he arrived in the US, but he nevertheless graduated from high school in one year, and in 1993–94 he was named All Columbus Basketball Player of the Year.

College career

Aw signed to play for Georgetown in 1994. There he found another Senegalese player, Cheikh Yaya Dia, who was a sophomore in 1994–95. In his first season at Georgetown under coach John Thompson, Aw played 30 games, playing as a backup

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He was the 6th best rebounder (2.5) and the 8th best scorer (4 points per game) on the team in his freshman year, and had his highest-scoring performance with 17 points against

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

on February 14, 1995. In his sophomore season, coach Thompson promoted Aw to a starting role, alongside Jerome Williams. That season, two more African players joined Georgetown:

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Godwin Owinje Godwin is an English-language surname with Anglo-Saxon origins. It means ''God's friend'' and is thus equivalent to Theophilus, Jedediah, Amadeus and Reuel. However, the word "Godwin" can also mean "helper of mankind" Surname or only known name ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian Joseph Touomou, bringing the total of African players in the team roster to 4 (Aw, Dia, Owinje and Touomou). Aw started 37 games during the season, with his best performance coming again against UConn on February 19, 1996 (11 points and 5 rebounds). He averaged 4.5 points and 3 rebounds, playing 18.8 minutes per game, and participated in the 1996 NCAA tournament, during which Georgetown reached the Elite Eight, where they lost to

UMass The University of Massachusetts is the public university system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, a medical school in Worcester and a law school in Dartmouth ...

. During the NCAA Tournament, Aw scored a tournament-high 8 points against

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

on March 21, after posting 6 rebounds against

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

on March 17. As a junior, Aw had a more relevant role in the team, following the graduation of seniors Othella Harrington and Jerome Williams. He started all 30 games, playing 20.7 minutes, and had a season high 16 points, along with 9 rebounds, in the March 14, 1997 game against Charlotte during the 1997 NCAA tournament. Aw saw an improvement in his offensive contribution, increasing his scoring average to 7.4 points per game, and was the third-best rebounder on the team with 5 per game (behind Dia and

Jahidi White Jahidi White (born February 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA. Basketball career Jahidi White attended high school at Cardinal Ritter College Prep. While at Ritter, White teamed with future D ...

); he also shot a career-high 53.9% from the field. In his senior season, Aw was named team captain. On January 20, 1998 Aw posted new career highs with 21 points and 18 rebounds against

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

. He then recorded a new career high in scoring with 24 points on February 17, 1998 against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Aw's senior season was marked by increased offensive assignments, due to injuries to Jahidi White and freshman Cameroonian center

Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje Ruben Bertrand Boumtje-Boumtje (born 20 May 1978) is a Cameroonian professional basketball executive and former player who last served as the assistant general manager of the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League. He played college basketball ...

, and Aw had career-highs in points (11.4, second on the team behind Shernard Long) and rebounds (6.2, second behind White).

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" , Georgetown , 30 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .522 , , .000 , , .581 , , 2.5 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 4.0 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Georgetown , 37 , , 37 , , 18.8 , , .507 , , .000 , , .417 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" , Georgetown , 30 , , 30 , , 20.7 , , .539 , , .000 , , .544 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" , Georgetown , 31 , , 31 , , 27.4 , , .516 , , .000 , , .550 , , 6.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 11.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 128 , , 98 , , 20.7 , , .521 , , .000 , , .532 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 6.7 , -

Professional career

After his senior season at Georgetown, Aw was automatically eligible for the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

, but he was not selected by an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise. In December 1998 he signed a professional contract for

Belgrano de San Nicolás Belgrano may refer to: People * Joaquín Belgrano (1773–1848), an Argentine patriot * José Denis Belgrano (1844–1917), Spanish painter * Joseph Belgrano (1762–1823), Argentine military officer and politician, brother of Manuel * Manuel B ...

of the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Liga Nacional de Básquet Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

. In his first season as a professional, Aw averaged 20 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 58% from the field over 32 games (35.4 minutes per game). He stayed with Belgrano also for the following season, during which he posted averages of 18.5 points and 6 rebounds per game, with a 65% field goal percentage. In 2000 he played for

Gimnasia La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

in the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso, the second tier of Argentine basketball, and averaged 19.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He then went back to Belgrano for the 2000–01 season, playing 24 games (18.1 points, 5.9 rebounds per game). In 2001 he joined Regatas San Nicolás, another LNB team, and he appeared in 32 league games, averaging 17.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 34.8 minutes of playing time. In 2003 he moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

for the first time in his career, and signed for La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal, a team of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

which played in the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Grupo Caliente, Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball sports league, league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 1 ...

, participating in the 2003 season. In early 2004 he left to join

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an club Universidad Católica, participating in the 2004

Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol The Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto ( Portuguese: ''Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete'', English: ''South American Basketball League''), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the secon ...

during which he averaged 22.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. In February 2004 he signed for

Quilmes Quilmes () is a city on the coast of the Rio de la Plata, in the , on the southeast end of the Greater Buenos Aires, being some away from the urban centre area of Buenos Aires. The city was founded in 1666 and is the seat of the eponymous '' ...

, playing 23 games (13.1 points, 6.7 rebounds) in the Argentine LNB. After playing another season in Mexico with Ola Roja in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, and earned an all-star selection. He then signed for

Estudiantes de Olavarría Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Olavarría, is an Argentine sports club based in Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province. Club's nickname is ''Albinegro''. Estudiantes gained notoriety in late 1990s when the basketball team w ...

in late December 2004, and played 9 games in Argentina (18.3 points, 5.6 rebounds) before leaving the team in February 2005. Later that year he signed for Fuerza Guinda de Nogales, a Mexican team that participated in the CIBACOPA, averaging 22.7 points per game. In 2006 he signed again for Ola Roja, taking part in the 2006 LNBP season and receiving an All-Star selection. Aw then spent the

2007–08 LNBP season The 2007–08 LNBP was the 8th season of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, one of the professional basketball leagues of Mexico. The regular season began September 6, 2007 and ended on January 19, 2008. The playoffs ended on March 13, 20 ...

with

Pioneros de Quintana Roo The Pioneros de Quintana Roo (''Quintana Roo Pioneers'' in English) were a Mexican professional basketball team based in Cancún, México, playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). During the 2010–2011 season the team made i ...

, with which he also played in the

2008–09 FIBA Americas League The 2008–09 FIBA Americas League was the second edition of the first-tier and most important professional international club basketball competition in the regions of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, with the winner o ...

(14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds per game).

National team career

With the Senegalese national team, Aw was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1997 FIBA Africa Championship. He then took part in the

, playing 5 games averaging 5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks: he scored 10 points against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. According to Senegalese press agency ''Agence de Presse Sénégalaise'', Aw and teammate Cheikh Yaya Dia did not accept any call-up from the national team after 1998.

References

External links

Career stats at ProBallers.comProfile at RealGM.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aw, Boubacar 1975 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players Belgrano de San Nicolás basketball players Centers (basketball) Estudiantes de Olavarría basketball players Fuerza Guinda de Nogales players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata basketball players Halcones UV Córdoba players La Ola Roja del Distrito Federal players Pioneros de Quintana Roo players Power forwards Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Argentina Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Mexico Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Sportspeople from Thiès 20th-century Senegalese sportsmen