Ansu Sesay

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Ansu Sesay
Basket Napoli
2007–2008AJ Milano
2008–2010Alba Berlin
2010STB Le Havre
2010Jahesh Tarabar Qom
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  United States
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1997 Trapani
Team competition

Ansu Martin Sesay Jr. (born July 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player.[1]

High school and college career

Sesay attended

Houston, Texas
. He led his team to the school's first state title in basketball in 1994.

Sesay starred at University of Mississippi, where he was named first-team all-SEC during both his junior and senior seasons and was the SEC's player of the year during his senior year.[2]

NBA

Sesay was selected 30th overall by the

1998 NBA draft
. After the NBA's lockout ended, he tore his ACL during a condensed training camp and spent the entire 1999 season on the injured list. He then spent the 1999–2000 season in the CBA, playing 54 games for Rockford, where he averaged nearly 12 points and five boards per game.

The Mavericks invited Sesay back to camp in 2000 but early in the preseason was dealt along with guard Dana Barros to Detroit for forward Loy Vaught. The next day, the Pistons released Sesay, and he returned to the CBA, playing 13 games for Quad City and finishing with averages of 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

He signed for a brief period in training camp with the

Vladimir Radmanovic put Sesay on the bench for only garbage minutes in the series' first games. After Lewis went out again midway through game three, Sesay became a key part of the team's game four rotation. His eight rebounds in 26 minutes helped out a 91–79 victory which forced a deciding game five.[4]

Ansu Sesay impressed enough during his eight-game stint with the Sonics, on a 46.3% shooting, that he made his way onto the team's playoff roster and was part of Nate McMillan's postseason rotation. After the season, the Sonics re-signed the restricted free agent to a two-year deal, and Sesay was expected to be a part of the team's rotation. Sesay's season got off to a bad start when he strained his back during training camp, keeping him out of the majority of the Sonics preseason games. More of a concern in the long run for Sesay was his ability to make shots. By opening night, however, Sesay was in the lineup and played 16 minutes.

Sesay dropped off dramatically in the next season. During the month of November 2002, he shot 29%, and scarcely improved to 30% in December 2002. Nonetheless, he remained valuable and stayed in the rotation because of his defensive ability. Sesay had the ability to defend shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards, and he saw action at each of the three positions. A natural small forward, Sesay started at power forward during the month of January when the Sonics were without injured Vladimir Radmanovic. Playing more regularly, Sesay's touch began to return, and he shot 41.9% in January 2003 and an even 50% in February 2003.

The Sonics pair of trades at the trade deadline 2003 effectively ended Sesay's season. He was placed on the injured list with a lower back strain and remained there for the rest of the season. The Sonics missed his versatility during that period. In addition to the three positions mentioned above, the Sonics coaching staff also discussed playing Sesay at the point when backup Kenny Anderson was injured during the early part of the 2002–2003 season.[5]

He went on to play for the Golden State Warriors (2004-January 2005).

He played 127 regular season NBA games with averages of 10.2 MPG, 3.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG on .434 field goal percentage and .640 free throw percentage in 10.2 minutes per game. He also appeared in 4

playoff
games for the Sonics.

Overseas

Sesay played in the

Best Import award.[6] He led the Realtors to their first Finals appearance on 2000, losing in 5 games to the San Miguel Beermen led by Stephen Howard
.

In 2001, he also "served" a 1-day contract with

Italian Cup
title in 2006.

In 2007–08, Sesay signed with another Italian team,

ALBA Berlin inked power forward Ansu Sesay to a one-year deal, with an option to extend it until the end of the 2009–10 season. Alba head coach stated that Sesay is the athletic power forward who can hit outside shots that they were looking for.[7]
Sesay wore jersey number 9 with Alba.

Personal life

Sesay is of Sierra Leonan descent. His oldest child, Ansu III, is also an accomplished basketball player. Ansu III was a key defensive player for Elkins High School. He helped his team make it to the District 5A Basketball Playoff final round. The team lost by only three points against the defending district champions. Ansu also has four other children.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Ansu Sesay bio". NBA. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  2. NBA.com
    .
  3. NBA.com. Archived from the original
    on November 24, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "SonicsCentral.com | Ansu Sesay Scouting Report". www.sonicscentral.com.
  5. NBA.com. Archived from the original
    on September 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "NBA Players".
  7. ^ "Latest News | EuroLeague". Euroleague Basketball. October 16, 2023.
  8. ^ "Sierra Leonean Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - afrobasket.com". Archived from the original on December 12, 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ansu_Sesay&oldid=1220637431"