Duquesne Basketball
Former Pitt, Duquesne Stars Square Off in the Pros
Over the weekend, former Pitt guard Nike Sibande squared off against former Duquesne guard Dae Dae Grant in a European professional basketball game.
Sibande plays for Basquet Girona, while Grant plays for Río Breogán.
According to Proballers.com, this was Grant’s first professional game. The Duquesne legend turned in an elite performance, scoring 18 points, grabbing four steals, and hauling in three rebounds in a winning effort over Sibande’s squad. Sibande added six points in 21 minutes played for Basquet Girona.
This year, Sibande is averaging 7.8 points per game for his new team through 12 games. He spent last year, his first year of professional basketball, playing for three teams: Kataja Basket (Finland), Maroussi (Greece), and Merkezefendi (Turkey). He is now competing for Basquet Girona in Spain’s top league, which is often known as the top league in European professional ball.
Final!!!!
VITORIA PAZOOOOO!!RÍO BREOGÁN 77@BasquetGirona 74
📊 https://t.co/e5OW2ClgJu pic.twitter.com/9UsbRLM2z6
— Río Breogán (@CBBreogan) December 21, 2024
Grant and Sibande played together previously in their collegiate careers. In the 2019-20 season, Grant was a freshman on Miami Ohio’s basketball squad while Sibande was in his third year with the program. Sibande averaged 13+ points per game that year along with 5.9 rebounds, while the rookie Grant averaged 9.3 points per game in Oxford in year one.
Nike Sibande and Dae Dae Grant at Miami Ohio in 2019-20.
Years later, Grant and Sibande both ended up in the Steel City, with Grant transferring to Duquesne and Sibande transferring to Pitt.
Sibande played a crucial role in Pitt’s run to the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament, winning ACC Sixth Man of the Year that season. Grant led the Dukes to the NCAA Tournament last year, leading Keith Dambrot’s squad to an Atlantic 10 title and a first-round upset win over BYU in the big dance.
