CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy announced the addition of transfer guard Ali Dibba on Friday. Dibba comes to Southern Illinois after two seasons at Abilene Christian.
Dibba joins guards Drew Steffe, Damien Mayo Jr., Davion Sykes, and Tyler Bey as well as forwards Jaheem Webber, Rolyns Aligbe, and Jorge Moreno in the recruiting cycle.
“Ali has such great experience and gives us an immediate impact player on both ends of the floor,” Nagy said. “He is also a great young man who will give us tremendous leadership.”
The Stockholm, Sweden comes to SIU with three seasons of college basketball experience. Dibba started his career at Chicago State in 2021-22 and played five games for the Cougars, averaging 13.4 points in 26 minutes per game. Dibba transferred to Abilene Christian in 2022-23 and spent two seasons with the Wildcats.
Last season, Dibba led the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 assists per game. The guard shot 47.7 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from behind the arc.
Dibba scored in double-figures in 27 games and 20 or more points in seven games for the Wildcats, including a 10-straight stretch to end the season. He posted a season-high 25 points on the road at Western Kentucky. He posted two double-doubles with points and rebounds against WKU and Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
He made two starts and appeared in five games for the Cougars his freshman season, missing most of the nonconference slate due to a travel restriction from his native Sweden. Dibba missed the final 12 games of the season due to a hand injury.
He made his collegiate debut at Grand Canyon where he led the team with 21 points to go with seven rebounds. Dibba scored in double-digits in three of the five games he played.
