Pitt's Nike Sibande Signs with Spanish Professional Team

Former Pitt Panthers guard Nike Sibande will continue his professional career over in the Liga ACB in Spain, the top league in Europe.

Feb 25, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Nike Sibande (22) brings the ball up court as Syracuse Orange center Jesse Edwards (14) chases during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pitt Panthers guard Nike SIbande will continue his professional career as he signed for Bàsquet Girona in the Liga ACB, the best league in Europe.

Girona is a city in Spain in the northeastern Catalonian region, not too far away from southern France and in the same region as Barcelona. The people in the region speak Catalan as their main language, as well as Spanish.

Bàsquet Girona that came into existence in 2014, as former NBA center and Spain star Marc Gasol founded the team. They finished with a 13-21 record this past season, 14th out of 18 teams in Liga ACB, the top division on Spanish basketball.

Sibande hails from Indianapolis and had an excellent high school career for Crispus Attucks. He averaged 22.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and led his team to the Class 3A Indiana state title as a senior in 2017.

He started his collegiate career at Miami (Ohio) and got off to a fantastic start. He started all 34 games and led the team with both 32.9 minutes and 15.1 points per game, respectively. He also made 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game, respectively, while shooting 41.4% from the field, 35.0% from 3-point range and 73.3% from the foul line.

His play earned him MAC Freshman of the Year, an All-MAC Honorbale Mention and All-MAC Freshman Team honors.

Sibande continued his good play as a sophomore in the 2018-19 season. He started 31 of 32 games and led the team with 30.1 minutes and 16.1 points per game, respectively. He also was second on the RedHawks with 5.1 rebounds per game and he shot 39.4% from the field, 32.9% from 3-point range and 69.6% from the free throw line. He earned All-MAC Third Team honors for his play that season.

He played one more season for Miami (Ohio) as a junior, leading the team with 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, respectively. He also shot 44.0% from the field, 32.0% from deep and 82.0% from the foul line in the 2019-20 season.

Sibande then would transfer from the team to Pitt ahead of the 2020-21 season, but the Miami (Ohio) coaching staff denied his waiver. Sibande would appeal that decision, but an NCAA ruling that all players with pending waiver requests were eligible to play that season made the appeal unnecessary.

He played in 14 games, starting eight, averaging 19.6 minutes, 6.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, respectively, while shooting 41.5% from the field, 43.6% from 3-point range and 57.1% from the foul line that season.

Sibande suffered a torn ACL in a preseason game that kept him out of the 2021-22 season, but he would return for the following season once he got cleared to play.

He played in all 36 games for the Panthers in the 2022-23 season, serving as the sixth man. He averaged 22.5 minutes, 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 43.2% from the field, 34.7% from behind the arc and 74.6% from the free throw line.

His play earned him ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors, the first Panther to win the award. His play, along with fellow guards Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott and Jamarius Burton, plus forward Blake Hinson, helped Pitt win 24 games and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

The 6-foot-4 guard spent this past year in Europe playing for professional teams in Finland, Greece and Turkey.

He will come back to Pittsburgh to play for the Zoo Crew in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), joining a number of other Pitt alums, as they start play on July 20 at the Petersen Events Center.

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