Makhtar N'Diaye (basketball) explained

Makhtar Ndiaye
Height:2.03 m
Weight:111 kg
Birth Date:12 December 1973
Birth Place:Diourbel, Senegal
Nationality:Senegalese
High School:Oak Hill
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
College:
Draft Year:1998
Career Start:1998
Career End:2008
Career Number:40
Career Position:Power forward
Years1:1998
Team1:Oyak Renault
Years2:1998–1999
Team2:Lietuvos rytas
Team3:Vancouver Grizzlies
Years4:1999–2000
Team4:Chorale Roanne
Years5:2000–2001
Team5:Besançon BCD
Years6:2001
Team6:Chorale Roanne
Years7:2001–2002
Team7:North Charleston Lowgators
Years8:2002–2003
Team8:JA Vichy
Years9:2003–2004
Team9:JDA Dijon
Years10:2004
Team10:Chorale Roanne
Years11:2004
Team11:Edimes Pavia
Years12:2005
Team12:TBB Trier
Years13:2005
Team13:ASVEL
Years14:2005–2007
Team14:Levallois
Years15:2007–2008
Team15:AEK Larnaca
Bbr:ndiayma01

Makhtar Vincent N'Diaye (born 12 December 1973) is a Senegalese former professional basketball player who played as a power forward and center. He played for the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1999, becoming the first player from Senegal to join and play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Career

Born in Diourbel, N'Diaye came to the United States to play high school basketball at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. He was recruited to play at Wake Forest by head coach Dave Odom, but was ruled ineligible to play by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) because of recruiting violations and transferred to Michigan. After two seasons, he transferred again, to North Carolina. After sitting out the required one season, N'Diaye played under coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge, making the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 1997 and 1998.

During his NCAA playing career, N'Diaye acquired a reputation for rough play and contentious relations with game officials. In one three-game stretch in February 1998, he was assessed four technical fouls. He attracted national attention for his troublesome attitude during the 1998 Final Four, where he fouled out after only fourteen minutes of play in North Carolina's national semifinal loss to the University of Utah. During the game, he purportedly spat in the face of opposing player Britton Johnsen, and claimed that Johnsen had directed a racial slur at him and denied the spitting incident afterwards. Following a national uproar and vociferous denials of hate speech from both Johnsen and Utah coach Rick Majerus, N'Diaye retracted the accusation and issued a public apology.

After going unselected in the 1998 NBA draft, N'Diaye signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Grizzlies. He played 4 games for Vancouver in the lockout-shortened 1999 season before he was traded to the Orlando Magic, who released him before the 1999–2000 season. He continued his career in Europe, mostly in the French league, save for a season-long stint with the North Charleston Lowgators of the NBA Development League in 2001–02.

He represented Senegal at the FIBA World Championship in 1998 and 2006, and played on the team that won the FIBA Africa Championship in 1997.

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