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Chinemelu Elonu

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Chinemelu Elonu
No. 5 – Al Qadsia
PositionCenter
LeagueKuwaiti Division I
Personal information
Born (1987-03-11) March 11, 1987 (age 37)
Enugu, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian / American
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolAlief Elsik (Houston, Texas)
CollegeTexas A&M (2006–2009)
NBA draft2009: 2nd round, 59th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–2010CAI Zaragoza
2010–2011Panionios
2011–2012Pau-Orthez
2012–2013Tofaş
2013Jiangsu Monkey King
2013–2014Tofaş
2014CAI Zaragoza
2014–2015Tofaş
2015Capitanes de Arecibo
2015–2016Beşiktaş
2017AEK Athens
2017Capitanes de Arecibo
2017–2018AEK Athens
2018Capitanes de Arecibo
2018Reggiana
2020–2021Capitanes de Arecibo
2021Zamalek
2021–2022Capitanes de Arecibo
2022–2023Al-Jahra
2023Capitanes de Arecibo
2024–presentAl Qadsia
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Chinemelu D. Elonu Jr. (born March 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Al Qadsia of the Kuwaiti Division I. He played college basketball for Texas A&M.

High school career

[edit]

Elonu attended Alief Elsik High School where he averaged 15.0 points per game as a senior, helping the team to a 33–5 record while posting career highs of 21 points and 20 rebounds.[1] He was ranked as the No. 48 power forward in the country by Scout.com.[2]

College career

[edit]

Elonu played at Texas A&M University, where he played with the Aggies, from 2006 to 2009. In his junior and final season, he averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds per game.[3] He graduated from the school in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Leadership and Development.[4]

Professional career

[edit]

Elonu was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 59th pick in the 2009 NBA draft.[3][5] He later signed a two-year deal with the Spanish team CAI Zaragoza where he averaged 6.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He had an opt-out clause that would have allowed him to sign with the Lakers after the 2009–10 season.[6] After one year, he left Zaragoza.

In August 2010, Elonu signed a contract with Panionios in Greece. He left Panionios before the end of the season after being replaced by Ryvon Covile. On January 25, 2011, Elonu signed a contract with Pau-Orthez in France in order to replace the injured Travon Bryant.[7] He averaged 10.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

In July 2012, Elonu joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On August 16, 2012, Elonu signed a contract with Tofaş of the Turkish Basketball Super League.[8] In June 2013, Elonu signed with Jiangsu Monkey King from China.[9] For the 2013–14 season, Elonu re-signed with Tofaş. During his second stint with the Turkish club, Elonu averaged 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in the Turkish League and 16.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in the EuroChallenge.

In May 2014, Elonu came back to CAI Zaragoza after four years, and signed a contract until the end of the 2013–14 ACB season.[10] On July 17, 2014, he returned to Tofaş.[11] During the season, he participated at the Turkish League Slam Dunk contest, among with Kenny Gabriel, Jan Vesely, Furkan Korkmaz, JaJuan Johnson, Patric Young, Sinan Güler and Sean Williams.

On June 9, 2015, Elonu signed with Capitanes de Arecibo of Puerto Rico.[12] On November 9, 2015, Elonu signed with Turkish club Beşiktaş for the 2015–16 season.[13][14] With them he averaged 8.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in the Turkish League and 9.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks in EuroCup.

On January 2, 2017, Elonu signed with AEK Athens in Greece for the rest of the 2016–17 season, replacing Randal Falker on the team's squad.[15] On June 5, 2017, he re-joined the Capitanes de Arecibo for the rest of the 2017 BSN season.[16]

On August 18, 2017, Elonu re-joined AEK Athens for the 2017–18 season. Where they won the Basketball Champions League (BCL).[17]

On September 28, 2018, Elonu signed a deal with Italian club Pallacanestro Reggiana.[18]

On April 18, 2021, Elonu signed with Egyptian side Zamalek to play in the 2021 BAL season.[19] He won the first-ever BAL championship with the team.[20] In July 2021, he came back to Capitanes de Arecibo.[21]

On August 28, 2024, Elonu signed with Al Qadsia of the Kuwaiti Division I.[22]

Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field goal percentage
 3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high     Led the league

Regular season

Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Panionios GBL 9 21.2 .471 – .571 6.6 0.2 0.7 1.7 7.6
2011–12 Pau-Orthez LNB Pro A 30 24.2 .634 – .603 8.3 0.6 0.6 1.1 10.4
2012–13 Tofaş BSL 29 21.2 .661 – .515 7.6 0.3 0.4 1.1 9.6
2016–17 AEK Athens GBL 14 14.1 .623 – .743 5.7 0.5 0.5 0.4 6.6
2017–18 AEK Athens GBL 12 13.2 .523 – .556 4.3 0.6 0.1 0.9 5.1

Playoffs

Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013 Tofaş BSL 2 23.0 .474 .500 .833 8.5 1.0 0.0 0.5 11.5
2016–17 AEK Athens GBL 9 15.0 .632 – .722 5.6 0.4 0.1 0.8 6.8

FIBA Champions League

[edit]

[23] [24]

† Denotes seasons in which Chinemelu Elonu won the FIBA Champions League
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 A.E.K. 8 14.0 .545 – .481 4.5 .3 .3 1.3 6.1
2017–18† A.E.K. 11 12.4 .632 – .700 3.3 .4 .2 .5 5.6

BAL

[edit]
† Denotes seasons in which Chinemelu Elonu won the BAL championship
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021† Zamalek 6 0 18.2 .594 .000 .571 7.7 .8 .7 .8 8.3
Career 6 0 18.2 .594 .000 .571 7.7 .8 .7 .8 8.3

Personal life

[edit]

The son of Dozie and Amaka Elonu, he majored in agricultural leadership.[1] He has also one sister, Adaora Elonu currently playing for Uni Girona CB.

Elonu has lived in Puerto Rico since 2015.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Texas A&M bio". AggieAthletics.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  2. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu-Scout.com". Maxpreps.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Zwerneman, Brent (June 27, 2009). "A&M hoops star Elonu sets sights on NBA career". Chron.com. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  4. ^ Young, Larry (June 22, 2009). "A&M's Elonu enters NBA Draft short on centers". Chron.com. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  5. ^ "Meet Chinemelu Elonu". NBA.com. July 15, 2009. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Teaford, Elliott (September 15, 2009). "Draft pick signs … in Spain". InsideSocal.com. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  7. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu inks with Pau-Orthez". Sportando.com. January 25, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  8. ^ "Tofas Bursa adds Chinemelu Elonu". Sportando.com. August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  9. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu signed in China with Jiangsu". Sportando.com. June 27, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  10. ^ "Elonu regresa al CAI Zaragoza para reforzarlo hasta final de temporada". ACB.com (in Spanish). May 19, 2014. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  11. ^ "Transfer to Tofaş!". amkspor.sozcu.com (in Turkish). July 17, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  12. ^ "Capitanes firman un nuevo centro". PrimeraHora.com (in Spanish). June 9, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  13. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu Beşiktaş'ta". BJK.com.tr (in Turkish). November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  14. ^ "Besiktas signs Chinemelu Elonu". Sportando.com. November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  15. ^ "AEK Athens B.C. signs Elonu". aekbc.gr. January 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Regresa Chinemelu Elonu". capitanesdearecibo.net (in Spanish). June 5, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  17. ^ "AEK B.C signs Elonu". aekbc.gr. August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  18. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu signs with Reggio Emilia". Sportando.basketball. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  19. ^ "Al Zamalek tabs Chinemelu Elonu for BAL". Afrobasket.com. April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  20. ^ "18-year-old Mohab Yasser stars as Egypt's Zamalek win first ever BAL title". Olympics.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  21. ^ Vega, Giovanny (July 7, 2021). "Capitanes abrirán su temporada con nuevas energías y el núcleo completo". ElVocero.com (in Spanish). Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  22. ^ نادي القادسية الرياضي [@QadsiaClub] (August 28, 2024). "نادي القادسية يتعاقد مع المحترف الامريكي ايلانو لتمثيل الفريق الاول لكرة السلة للموسم المقبل" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved August 29, 2024 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "AEK at the Basketball Champions League 2016-2017".
  24. ^ "AEK at the Basketball Champions League 2017-2018".
  25. ^ "Chinemelu Elonu habla sobre su relación con Puerto Rico: "Estoy aquí porque me enamoré de la gente"". November 9, 2021.
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