Samb Chiekh Tidiane (born October 22, 1984, in Senegal) is a Senegalese professional basketball player. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round (51st pick overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, but was traded that day to the Detroit Pistons for shooting guard Maurice Evans. Samb is 7 ft 1 in (2.15 m) tall and weighs 215 lb (98 kg).
In the 2005-06 season, he played for WTC Cornella in the Spanish LEB2 league, averaging 9.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, shooting 51.4% from the field, 38.5% from three and 76.1% from the free throw line, playing an average of 26 minutes per game in 29 games. He led the league in blocked shots, registering more blocks than the totals of all but one other team in the league. After being drafted Chiekh played for the Detroit Pistons NBA Summer League averaging 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 65.2% from the field and 60.0% from the free throw line without attempting a three.
In his second season with Cornella he averaged 10.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks while shooting 52% from the field, 50% from three and 61% from the free throw line playing 24 minutes per game in only 19 games in an injury plagued season. Chiekh returned from Spain to average 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 57.7% from the field and 71.4% from the free throw line while not attempting a three, starting in four and playing in all five Detroit Pistons NBA Summer League games. Subsequently, he earned a two-year contract with the Pistons. Chiekh's brother Mamadou is the consensus top international prospect born in 1989.[1]
On November 16, 2007, Samb debuted in his first regular season NBA game with the Pistons: against the Los Angeles Lakers, he had 4 rebounds, 2 points and 2 blocks in just 15 minutes.
On December 14, in his second NBA Development League (D-League) game with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, against the Dakota Wizards, Samb took an elbow to his mouth and lost two front teeth.The teeth, knocked out at the root, were subsequently put in a saline solution and he was taken to a dentist to have the teeth reset.[2] He also suffered a probable upper jawbone fracture.He would be recalled to the NBA on December 21, switching to the Mad Ants again on January 2008.
On February 3, 2008, Samb recorded a triple double with the Mad Ants, with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 11 blocks. On March 22, he was once again re-called to the Pistons.
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This gain in strength has not damaged his agility. Cheikh is not only able to be a dominant force on the defensive side, where he intimidates opponents and is probably NBA ready, but he is also a reliable scorer on the offensive side where he has developed his back to the basket game and is able to shoot from 15-18 feet or further.
Cheikh not only has an incredible ability to jump, which he demonstrates in every game, but he is also able to read the game on offense and has the potential to be a scoring threat in the NBA. If I would have to compare him with an NBA player, I would say he is similar to Samuel Dalembert in that he has the same defensive skills and ability to intimidate, but I think he could develop into a better offensive player. He reads the game better and relies on a greater number of tools than Samuel. He is a smart guy, very mature off the court and I think he will adapt quick to the NBA game and off-court lifestyle. It looks like he might be able to play again in the Las Vegas summer league with the Pistons where we will see if his latest progress and evolution help him reach his ultimate goal: to play in the NBA.
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Gentlemen, I was thinking about Samb’s learning curve and how its different than most NBA prospects. The only center I can thinking of that started playing around the same age as Samb is Dikembe. Samb is probably at least even, and maybe even ahead of Mutombo at the same age. If you look at the latest article on the official Pistons’ page, you’ll see that Samb apparently has an option to opt-out of his Euro contract and could come to the NBA.
Mutombo didn’t start getting court time with Georgetown until he was Samb’s current age, so theoretically Samb could develop in the D-League for a couple of years and have a major impact within the next few years. I’m not saying Samb will become Mutombo or that he’s a sure-fire prospect, I’m just noting that he’s on a different learning curve than other prospects. I think its worth giving him a rotation spot so we can keep a closer eye on him.
Age Mutombo
21- Georgetown - DNP
22 - 11 MPG Georgetown
23 - 25 MPG, big role at G’town
24 - Star center at G’town
25 - Rookie year in NBA
Age Samb
21 - Played in Euro Minor League
22 - Played well in Euro Minor League
23 - NBA D-League? (2007-08)
24 - NBA D-League? Rotation player? (2008-09)
25 - Rotation player or starter? (2009-10)
I think Kirk’s point is valid: international players who pick up the game relatively late in their youth can’t be graded strictly by the numbers that he’s putting up today. Instead, you gauge athletic ability and how quickly they learn the game, and by all accounts Samb is progressing nicely.
Plus, don’t forget, this is a guy Joe Dumars called an athletic “freak,” adding that after the rest of the league got a look at him during last year’s Las Vegas Summer League, one Eastern Conference GM offered a player currently in his starting five for Samb’s rights.
Until Samb arrives stateside for good and starts practicing and playing against known commodities, we won’t know for sure what kind of potential he has, but at worst he sounds like a guy worthy of a bench spot within a couple of years. You can’t teach height and leaping ability, which he seems to have in spades.
Here are two more pictures of Samb playing in last year’s Vegas Summer League as well as Europe this year:
We can use his height and his hardworking prescence inside the court. we must build this guy up so we push ourselves back on track for the championship level.
he can be one of our key players in the future alongside with jason maxiell, aaron afflalo, rodney stuckey and amir johnson.
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