The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed free agent forward Ike Diogu. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.
Were excited to have Ike join our team and expect him to help the frontline off the bench this season, said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower. He has shown a lot of potential as an inside scorer and as an effective rebounder.
Diogu (6-9, 250) holds career averages of 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 187 career games with four teams (Golden State, Indiana, Portland and Sacramento).
During the 2008-09 season, he averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, playing 29 games for Portland and Sacramento. While with the Kings, Diogu averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 14.2 minutes of play over 10 games (one start). He ended the year on a high note, recording a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds 4/13 at Denver prior to a season-finale performance of 28 points and a career-high-tying 13 rebounds at Minnesota on 4/15.
Diogu was the 9th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Warriors out of Arizona State University. In three seasons as a Sun Devil, Diogu averaged 21.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over 91 career games (all starts). He was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year as a junior and earned Consensus Second Team All-America honors (the only Sun Devil to ever earn that distinction), while averaging 22.6 points and 9.8 rebounds.