Height: 6-9
Weight: 231
Position: SF/PF
College: Iowa State
Age: 23
2015-2016 Season Stats
PPG: 20.5
RPG: 6.2
APG: 3.3
BLK: 0.6
STL: 0.9
Player Bio
Courtesy of Iowa State Athletics
AS A SENIOR(2015-16): Saw action and started in all 35 games ... had one of the best single seasons in school history, earning Consensus All-America honors and winning the Karl Malone Award (Best Power Forward) ... first Cyclone men's basketball player to win a national individual award ... unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team ... ISU's first men's basketball two-time All-American ... earned USBWA All-America (Second Team), AP All-America (Second Team), NABC All-America (Second Team), Wooden Award All-America (Second Team) and Senior CLASS Award All-America honors (Second Team) ... led the team, was second among Big 12 players and 23rd nationally, averaging 20.5 points ... his 718 points were the seventh-most scored by any Cyclone in a single season and the 14th most by any player nationally this season ... scored 20.0 points per game in Big 12 play, becoming the first Cyclone since Craig Brackins in 2009 to average 20 points in league action ... averaged a career-best 6.2 rebounds to go along with 3.3 assists per game ... only Big 12 player to rank among the league's top-10 in scoring, rebounding and assists ... shot 54.6 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from behind the arc and 80.7 percent from the free-throw line ... one of just two players nationally to average 20 points and shoot 60 percent on 2-point field goals ... in conference play, became just the fifth player in league history to average 20 points and shoot 54 percent ... finished his career second all-time at ISU with 2,228 career points ... also fourth all-time among Big 12 players in career scoring and second with 1,151 career points in conference games only ... third in ISU and Big 12 history with 849 career field goals made ... also finished fourth in 3-pointers made (188), 10th in assists (421), 11th in rebounds (714), 12th in free throws made (342) and 14th in blocks (67) in his career ... owns ISU's record for games played (138) and tied for the top spot in career starts (126) ... scored in double figures in all 35 games and 115 times in his career ... ends career having scored in double figures in 44 consecutive games ... tallied 20 points 17 times and 30 points on four different occasions ... posted three double-doubles this season and five in his career ... matched his career-high with 31 points against Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament, making 13-of-18 shots ... became just the second player in Big 12 history to earn all-tournament team honors three times ... earned NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament team honors after averaging 28.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games ... shot 54.1 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from behind the arc and 85.7 percent from the line in those three contests ... had 28 points in the first round against Iona and the second round against Little Rock before scoring 30 points in the Sweet 16 against Virginia ... just the seventh player to score 30 points against Virginia in the first seven years of the Tony Bennett era ... he was just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to score 28 or more points in three consecutive games and the first player in tournament history to have at least 25 points, five rebounds and three assists in three-straight games ... ISU's all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament play with 148 points ... also leads in field goals made (58) and is second in rebounds (43) ... averaged 21.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in seven career NCAA Tournament games ... when his career ended he was the only player in the nation and one of just four players since 1994-95 with 2,000 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists.
AS A JUNIOR (2014-15): Played and started all 34 games, earning All-Big 12 First-Team and All-America honors ... was a finalist for the Karl Malone Award (Best Power Forward) ... was also on Wooden Award, Lute Olson Award, Oscar Robertson and Naismith Trophy Watch Lists ... averaged a team-high 15.3 points, which ranked third among Big 12 players ... grabbed 5.4 rebounds and dished out 3.4 assists per contest ... was one of 14 players nationally, including just four in power conferences, to average 15-5-3 ... was seventh in the Big 12 in assists per game ... one of the Big 12's best shooters, connecting on 46.1 percent of his field goal attempts (6th) and 80.8 percent of his free throws (7th) ... shot 40 percent on 3-pointers ... hit 45.3 percent of 3-point attempts in conference action, becoming just the fourth Cyclone to make at least 25 threes in Big 12 play while shooting better than 45 percent ... was second among Big 12 players on 3-point percentage in conference action ... earned most outstanding player honors at the Big 12 Tournament after leading ISU to a second title in a row ... averaged 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in ISU's three wins ... scored in double figures in 28 games, including eight games with 20 or more points ... tallied 30 points in the season opener against Oakland, becoming the 31st Cyclone player to score 1,000 career points in the win ... had second career double-double against Georgia State, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds ... had 28 points against Alabama and 26 against Arkansas ... was 9-of-12 against Arkansas, while also dishing out a season-high eight assists ... finished with 23 points, including 20 in the second half, as ISU rallied from 21 points down to win the regular season finale against Oklahoma ... had 22 points in Big 12 quarterfinal win against Texas ... in the semifinals against Oklahoma, scored 13 points and grabbed eight boards ... had 19 points and five boards in the finals against Kansas ... scored 11 points and had seven boards against UAB in the NCAA Tournament ... earned a pair of Big 12 Player of the Week accolades.
AS A SOPHOMORE (2013-14): Played and started the first 33 games of the season before suffering a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a win against North Carolina Central ... third on the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game ... was in double figures 29 times, including 11 games with 20 or more points ... scored 17 or more points in 14 of his final 18 games ... also grabbed 4.4 rebounds and dished out 3.6 assists ... was only non-guard ranked among the top-10 in the Big 12 in assists per game ... led ISU averaging 18.7 points at the Big 12 Championships, including a 25-point performance in the Cyclones' win against Kansas in the semifinals ... had 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting before leaving with an injury in the win against North Carolina Central ... scored 27 points against Oklahoma ... was the Cyclones' closer, shooting 53.7 percent in the final five minutes of games ... had six of his 19 points in the final four minutes against BYU and six of his 10 points in final four minutes against Michigan ... made game-winning reverse layup with 18 seconds left against Iowa ... finished with 24 points against the Hawkeyes ... earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors for his effort against Iowa.
AS A FRESHMAN (2012-13): Recorded one of the finest rookie seasons in school history, averaging 12.1 points and 4.6 rebounds while starting 23 games ... named to the Big 12 All-Rookie team ... led the team and ranked fifth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 51.5 percent (157-305 FG) ... shot 39.2 percent (38-97 3FG) from 3-point range and 70.0 percent (70-100 FT) at the free-throw line ... was the fourth-best freshman scorer in the Big 12, becoming just the 13th Cyclone in school history to average double figures in scoring (12.1) ... his 422 points scored is the fourth-most by a Cyclone freshman ... scored in double figures 23 times ... made 38 3-pointers to rank third on ISU’s freshman list ... started all 18 Big 12 games, averaging 12.5 points and shooting 49.7 percent from the field ... named Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Jan. 14) after scoring 18 points vs. Texas ... made the game-winning basket with 0:02 seconds left to defeat West Virginia ... tallied 16 points (6-7 FG) at Oklahoma State ... posted 19 points (6-9 FG, 3-5 3FG) vs. TCU ... tied his career high with 19 points (8-14 FG) vs. Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament ... registered 19 points (9-13 field goals) vs. Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL: Considered one of the best players on the East Coast, ending his prep career as a consensus national top-100 recruit ... was ranked No. 42 by Lindy’s, No. 56 by ESPNU, No. 69 by Scout.com, No. 69 by Rivals.com, No. 73 by Sporting News and No. 81 by CBS Sports in the 2012 prep national rankings ... a three-year starter and two-year team captain, Niang capped off his career as one of the greatest players in The Tilton School history, amassing a school-record 2,372 points ... a three-time First-Team All-NEPSAC Class AA pick, Niang was the 2012 NEPSAC Class AA Player of the Year ... averaged 25.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a senior ... averaged 24.2 points and 8.2 rebounds as a junior ... led his team to the 2011 NEPSAC Class AA championship with a 72-56 win over St. Mark’s (Mass.) ... was named outstanding player of the tournament, scoring 23 points on 11-of-11 shooting from the field in the championship game ... team lost in the 2011 National Prep Championship to Notre Dame Prep (87-85), as Niang scored 31 points ... played for the Boston-based BABC AAU team, the same program that featured former Cyclone and NBA player Will Blalock ... his BABC squad won the 2011 Nike Peach Jam, one of the best AAU tournaments in the country ... teammates at Tilton and in AAU with Nerlens Noel ... won four NEPSAC titles, one national prep championship, one AAU national championship and one Nike EYBL title in his career ... played in the 2012 Mary Kline All-Star game ... also had offers from Iowa, Providence, Texas A&M and Seton Hall.
PERSONAL: Born June 17, 1993 in Lawrence, Mass. ... son of Sidy and Alison Niang ... first name pronounced “George” ... last name pronounced Knee-yang ... business marketing major ... was student body president at Tilton Prep.