Tanor Ngom
{{short description|Senegalese basketball player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Tanor Ngom
| image = File:Tanor Ngom.jpg
| caption =
| number = 34
| position = Center
| height_ft = 7
| height_in = 2
| weight_lbs = 236
| team = AB Castelló
| league = LEB Oro
| nationality = Senegalese
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1998|1|19}}
| birth_place = Dakar, Senegal
| high_school =
| college =
- Ryerson (2017–2020)
- Florida State (2020–2022)
| years1 = 2022–2023
| team1 = CD Póvoa
| years2 = 2023–present
| team2 = AB Castelló
| highlights =
- Second-team OUA All-Star (2020)
- OUA All-Rookie Team (2018)
| medal_templates =
}}
Elhadj Abdoulaye Tanor Ngom (born 19 January 1998) is a Senegalese professional basketball player for AB Castelló of the Spanish LEB Oro. He played collegiately for the Ryerson Rams and the Florida State Seminoles.
Early life and youth career
A native of Dakar, Senegal, Ngom stood about {{height|m=1.91}} when he was 12 years old.{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Lori |title=Ryerson seven-footer Tanor Ngom hopes to break U Sport barrier in NBA draft |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/2018/11/22/ryerson-seven-footer-tanor-ngom-hopes-to-break-u-sport-barrier-in-nba-draft.html |website=Toronto Star |publisher=The Canadian Press |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=22 November 2018}} He began taking interest in basketball at age 14, even though his father initially wanted him to focus on his education instead. Due to the lack of facilities, he ran on the beach and did push-ups to train, impressing his father. At age 15, Ngom moved away from his family to play for the youth program of Unicaja Málaga in Spain.{{cite web |last1=Ash |first1=Peter |date=24 October 2017 |title=How the Rams men's basketball team scored their biggest recruit |url=https://theeyeopener.com/2017/10/how-the-rams-mens-basketball-team-scored-their-biggest-recruit/ |accessdate=11 July 2020 |website=The Eyeopener}} While in Spain, he was discovered by his fellow countryman Boniface N'Dong who put Ngom in contact with Holger Geschwindner, the mentor of Dirk Nowitzki. Ngom spent two years in Germany: In the 2015-16 season, he played in the Bamberg youth set up.{{Cite web |date=2016-12-16 |title=Eine Geschichte voller Zufälle |url=https://www.nordbayern.de/region/hoechstadt/eine-geschichte-voller-zufalle-1.5691314 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=www.nordbayern.de}} In 2016-17, he had a double license to compete for the Nürnberg Falcons U19 team and the Longhorns Herzogenaurach men's team, competing in the country's fourth-tier division Regionalliga.{{Cite web |title=Beste Werfer (Saison: 2016/2017) - 1. Regionalliga Herren (1RLH) (Senioren): Longhorns Herzogenaurach |url=https://www.basketball-bund.net/statistik.do?reqCode=statBesteWerferArchiv&_top=-1&_absolut=0 |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=Deutscher Basketball-Bund}} While in Germany, he worked out with Geschwindner.
In 2017, Ryerson head coach Roy Rana saw Ngom at the SEED Project's Hoop Forum in Dakar, an event featuring top high school players in Senegal.{{cite web |last1=Briggs-Morris |first1=Connor |title=The Next Basketball Star Might Be Playing for Ryerson |url=https://blog.studentlifenetwork.com/2018/12/05/next-basketball-star-playing-ryerson/ |publisher=Student Life Network |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=5 December 2018}} Ngom obtained a visa to attend school in Canada and chose to play basketball under Rana at U Sports program Ryerson, despite also drawing interest from National Collegiate Athletic Association programs.{{cite web |last1=MacLeod |first1=Robert |title=Basketball From Senegal to Toronto, Ryerson Rams recruit Tanor Ngom in pursuit of collegiate glory |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/from-senegal-to-toronto-ryerson-rams-recruit-tanor-ngom-in-pursuit-of-collegiate-glory/article36466315/ |website=The Globe and Mail |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=2 October 2017}}
College career
=Ryerson=
Ngom played three years of basketball for U Sports program Ryerson, leading the Rams to a 55–15 record. When he joined the team, at age 19, he stood about {{height|m=2.18}}.{{cite web |title=7'2" Tanor Ngom poised to transform Ryerson Rams basketball |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ryerson-rams-recruit-1.4320059 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=3 October 2017}} As a freshman, Ngom averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game and was named to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) All-Rookie Team.{{cite web |title=Tanor Ngom – 2019-20 – Basketball (M) |url=https://ryersonrams.ca/sports/mens-basketball/roster/tanor-ngom/4456 |publisher=Ryerson University |accessdate=11 July 2020}} In the offseason, he gained almost {{convert|13.7|kg|lbs|abbr=on}}, which helped him improve as a sophomore.{{cite web |last1=Bellus |first1=Luke |title=Report: Ryerson centre Ngom declares for NBA Draft |url=https://www.tsn.ca/report-ryerson-centre-ngom-declares-for-nba-draft-1.1293480 |publisher=The Sports Network |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=19 April 2019}} In August 2018, Ngom became the first player from a Canadian university to participate in the Nike Skills Challenge. In his sophomore season, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He set Ryerson's single-season blocks record and tied a program record with a field goal percentage of 63.8 percent in the regular season. After the season, Ngom declared for the 2019 NBA draft, before returning to school. He missed the first six games of his junior season with an injury. On 11 January 2020, Ngom grabbed a program-record 23 rebounds to go with 23 points in an 87–82 win over Western.{{cite web |last1=Axelrod |first1=Gavin |title=Ngom's record-setting performance edges Rams past Mustangs |url=https://theeyeopener.com/2020/01/ngoms-record-setting-performance-edges-rams-past-mustangs/ |website=The Eyeopener |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=11 January 2020}} He finished the season averaging 16.7 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game and was named a Second Team OUA All-Star. In 60 career games at Ryerson, Ngom averaged 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, shooting 61 percent from the field and led the team to a 55-15 record.
=Florida State=
On 10 July 2020, Ngom signed a grant-in-aid agreement to play basketball for Florida State.{{cite web |last1=Weiler |first1=Curt |title=FSU men's basketball lands commitment, signature from center Tanor Ngom |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/mensbasketball/2020/07/11/florida-state-fsu-mens-basketball-seminoles-transfer-tanor-ngom-eligible-instant-ryerson-canada-ham/5421099002/ |website=Tallahassee Democrat |publisher=FSU Sports Information |accessdate=11 July 2020 |date=11 July 2020}} He averaged 0.9 points and 0.9 rebounds per game (7 contests) as a senior. Ngom opted to return to Florida State for his fifth season of eligibility, granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite magazine |last1=Veazy |first1=Austin |title=Meeting the 2021-22 Florida State Basketball Roster: Bigs |url=https://www.si.com/college/fsu/basketball/meeting-the-2021-22-florida-state-basketball-roster-bigs |access-date=30 November 2021 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=27 September 2021}} On 27 November 2021, he strained his knee in practice, forcing him to miss several games.{{cite news |last1=Tibbetts |first1=Dominic |title=Florida State men's basketball down 2 starters for BIG TEN/ACC challenge versus Purdue |url=https://www.wtxl.com/sports/college-sports/fsu/florida-state-mens-basketball-down-2-starters-for-big-ten-acc-challenge-versus-purdue |access-date=30 November 2021 |work=WTXL |date=29 November 2021}} In the 2021-22 season, Ngom appeared in nine games, scoring 6 points per outing, while pulling down 1.9 rebounds a game.{{Cite web |title=Tanor Ngom - 2021-22 - Men's Basketball |url=https://seminoles.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/tanor-ngom/5979 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Florida State University |language=en}}
Professional career
Ngom got his first professional experience with CD Póvoa of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol in Portugal in 2022-23, averaging 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. On July 3, 2023, he signed with AB Castelló of the Spanish second-tier league LEB Oro.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Castello signs Tanor Ngom |url=https://www.eurobasket.com/Spain/news/817080/Castello-signs-Tanor-Ngom |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=www.eurobasket.com}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://seminoles.com/sports/basketball/roster/tanor-ngom/ Florida State Seminoles bio]
- [https://ryersonrams.ca/sports/mens-basketball/roster/tanor-ngom/4456 Ryerson Rams bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngom, Tanor}}
Category:Senegalese men's basketball players
Category:Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Canada
Category:Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Portugal
Category:Basketball players from Dakar
Category:Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Spain
Category:Senegalese expatriate basketball people in Germany