Cheikh Yaya Dia (born 20 March 1974) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Dia 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 ...

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 ...

at St. John's at Prospect Hall in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

; he then went on to play 4 years in college at Georgetown, where he was named the Big East Most Improved Player in his senior season in 1997. After going undrafted in the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto R ...

, Dia started his professional career in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Throughout his career he has played in Uruguay,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

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 ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Dia 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 ...

High school career

Dia was born in

, and 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 ...

. Dia's full name is Cheikh Yaya Dia, with Cheikh and Yaya being his

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

s and Dia being his

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. His middle name is also mistakenly spelled "Ya Ya" or "Ya-Ya", and some non-Senegalese sources erroneously cited it as a nickname. Dia played mostly

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 years, until he became taller than most of his peers: at 15 years old, he began playing basketball. While playing in Senegal, Dia was noticed by a scout, who suggested that he come to the

, play one year in high school, and then sign with a college. Dia accepted and left Senegal, settling in

, where he attended St. John's at Prospect Hall in

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

. In his only season there, Dia averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, playing as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

on a team that was named the 8th best in the nation by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. In March 1993, Dia was named an Honorable Mention All-Area selection.

College career

Dia signed to play for Georgetown in August 1993, having already talked with the program's coaching staff during his recruitment process in Senegal. Under coach John Thompson, Dia received limited playing time as a freshman at 8 minutes per game; he scored 12 points against

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

on 18 December 1993 in one of the few games in which he scored points: he averaged 1.7 points for the season, along with 2.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Dia also appeared in 2 games during the

1994 NCAA tournament The 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1994, and ended with the champio ...

, playing 1 minute (recording no stats) against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and 11 minutes against

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, scoring 5 points and posting 2 rebounds. In Dia's sophomore season another Senegalese player,

Boubacar Aw Boubacar Richard Aw (born June 22, 1975) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player. After growing up in Thiès, Aw moved to the United States in 1993 and he played high school basketball in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina; he then went o ...

, joined the Georgetown Hoyas. Dia received less playing time in 1994–95 (5.7 minutes per game), and posted career lows in points (1.6) and rebounds (1.8). In his junior year, Dia played all 37 games, always as a reserve, and improved his averages to 2.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, while shooting a career-high 53.3% from the field. During the

1996 NCAA tournament The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the champions ...

, Dia played 4 games, scoring 10 points along with 6 rebounds in the first game against

Mississippi Valley State Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.frontcourt Basketball is a sport with five players on the court for each team at a time. Each player is assigned to different positions defined by the strategic role they play. Guard, forward and center are the three main position categories. The standard ...

players,

Othella Harrington Othella Harrington (born January 31, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. After he finished his high school career at Murrah High School, he played in college at Georgetown University where he teamed with future NBA star ...

and Jerome Williams, and Dia was included in the starting lineup by coach Thompson, being named team captain. Dia received significant playing time, and in 32.2 minutes he greatly improved his rebounding, averaging 10.1 per game, leading the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

in rebounds per game and total rebounds, posting 13 games in which he at least had 10 rebounds. He grabbed 14 rebounds in games against Notre Dame and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, and he had a career-high 18 rebounds on 26 February 1997 against

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, one of the best marks in Georgetown history. Dia also recorded 10 games scoring double figures. At the end of the season, Dia was named the Big East Most Improved Player, and received the Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year award.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" , Georgetown , 28 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .423 , , .000 , , .333 , , 2.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.8 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" , Georgetown , 12 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .444 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.6 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" , Georgetown , 37 , , 0 , , 12.8 , , .533 , , .000 , , .611 , , 3.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" , Georgetown , 30 , , 30 , , 32.2 , , .418 , , .000 , , .617 , , 10.1 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 2.3 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 107 , , 30 , , 16.2 , , .445 , , .000 , , .597 , , 5.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 1.1 , , 3.9 , -

Professional career

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

. Dia participated in trials with several NBA teams, among which the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

and the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. The ''

Courier News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees *John Curley, former presi ...

'' from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

mentioned Dia as an NBA prospect in a February 1997 article. Despite interest from NBA teams, Dia went undrafted; he was drafted in the 1997

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 ...

(CBA) draft, being selected in the 3rd round (29th overall pick) by the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to ...

. The Hoops waived Dia in November, and he signed with

an club Aguada in early 1998. After one season in the

Liga Uruguaya de Basketball 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 ...

, Dia moved to

, where he played for Regatas San Nicolás. He appeared in 6 games with the club, averaging 11.8 points and 7.7 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game. He then went back to Aguada in 1999, and averaged 19.1 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. His performances in Uruguay earned him the interest of the

West Sydney Razorbacks The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sy ...

, that signed him in July 1999, as the team needed a center. In the

1999–2000 NBL season The 1999–2000 NBL season was the 22nd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 11 teams contested the league. The Newcastle Falcons folded and were replaced by the Cairns Taipans. Regular season The 1999-2000 regular ...

Dia played 31 games, averaging 13 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. He stayed with the Razorbacks also for the following season, during which he posted 15.9 points, 9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Dia left Australia in 2001, and played for Argentinian club Quilmes in the

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 ...

: he averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds over 14 appearances. He then to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for the first time in his career: in July 2001 he signed for

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

LegaDue Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with ...

side Sutor Montegranaro. With his new team he played 36 league games, averaging 16.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1 block per game, playing as a

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 ...

. In 2003 he signed for

n team Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, and played 28 games in the 2003–04

Russian Super League The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second-best league in the world, after the Nation ...

, averaging 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. In 2004 he moved to

, and joined

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

. He appeared in 11 games in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

, posting averages of 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds. In 2005 Dia moved to another European country,

: he appeared in 6 games during the 2005–06 Turkish Basketball League with Karşıyaka S.K., playing 22.5 minutes per game (4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game). Later in 2005 he signed for Lebanese team Blue Stars of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. In the 2005–06

Lebanese Basketball League The Lebanese Basketball League is recognized as the top-tier professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Lebanon. It is organized annually as a national championship with playoffs and a national cup by the Lebanese Basketb ...

he ranked 4th in the league in rebounding with 12.2 per game. After playing in

with Arena Amman, in October 2006 he went back to Australia and signed another contract with the West Sydney Razorbacks. He played 32 games during the

2006–07 NBL season The 2006–07 NBL season was the 29th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. For the first time, a team was established from outside the Australasian area, with the Singapore Slingers taking over the licence of the Hunter Pirat ...

, averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. In 2007 he joined

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

team

Halcones UV Córdoba The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Notable basketball p ...

of 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 ...

. In November 2007 Dia joined

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 ...

, another Argentinian club. After 12 games (11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds) Dia left the team and signed for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, where he played 7 games (5.9 points, 3.3 rebounds). He retired after playing with

Al-Fateh ''Al-Fateh'' (, "The Conqueror") was an online children's magazine in Arabic. It began publication in September 2002, and its 108th issue was released in mid-September 2007. The magazine featured stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles. Criticism ...

National team career

Dia was first called up to the Senegalese national team in 1991. In 1997 he 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 9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1 assist per game: he had a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and scored 16 points

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'', Cheikh Yaya Dia and teammate

did not accept any call-up from the national team after 1998.

References

External links