St. Catharines native the first ever local for the Niagara River Lions

The Niagara River Lions have signed St. Catharines native Abu Kigab, making him the first ever Niagara player on the team in their seven year history.

The 23-year-old 6-foot-7 forward took the Boise State Bronco lead his team to the 64-team March Madness playoffs during his graduating year last season after they bowed out to the Memphis Tigers during the opening round on March 17.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity,” said Kigab. “To have a chance to come back home and play for my local team is a dream come true. There is truly nothing like it.”

With only a handful of games left in the Canadian Elite Basketball League season, Kigab will join the River Lions fresh from playing for the Toronto Raptors in the 2022 NBA 2K23 Summer League.

“Abu is a phenomenal talent that we’ve been tracking for some time now,” said Antwi Atuahene, River Lions Head of Basketball Operations and Co-General Manager.

“He’s clearly an NBA level player, and his ability to impact winning goes far beyond the stat sheet. We are excited to bring Abu home to play for the River Lions.”

Born in Khartum, South Sedan, Kigab moved to St. Catharines at the age of nine and attended Queen Mary Public School and St. Francis Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines.

He began his collegiate career with the Oregon Ducks where he played for a season and a half before transferring to Boise State in 2019. With the Broncos, Kigab started in all 35 games during his final year, averaging 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.5 minutes per game.

He recorded one 30-point game and seven 20-point games, earning him the Mountain West Championship MVP and being named to the All-Mountain West Second Team during the 2021-22 season.

“On behalf of the River Lions, we could not be more excited to welcome Abu home to St. Catharines to close out the 2022 CEBL season,” said Jeffrey Sotiriou, President of the Niagara River Lions.

“Today marks a historic day for our organization in signing the first ever player from the Niagara Region, and we hope that this only continues down the road. We encourage fans to come out this Friday night to cheer on Abu as he makes his homecoming in front of his family and friends.”

The River Lions are playing the Scarborough Shooting Stars at the Meridian Centre on July 22 at 7 pm. At 12-4, the River Lions are just one win behind the Hamilton Honey Badgers with a game in hand.

Visit HERE for ticket information.