Donte Ingram

Donte Ingram (born August 15, 1996) is an American basketball player for Donar of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Before Loyola, he attended Simeon Career Academy and was teammates with NBA player Jabari Parker. Ingram drew national attention after helping the 2017–18 Ramblers reach the Final Four round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. He was named to the second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference as a senior.

Donte Ingram
Ingram sitting on the bench of a basketball court next to his teammate
Ingram in 2013
No. 2 – Donar
PositionSmall forward / shooting guard
LeagueBNXT League
Personal information
Born (1996-08-15) August 15, 1996
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeLoyola Chicago (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Texas Legends
2019–2020Greensboro Swarm
2020–2021Nelson Giants
2021–presentDonar
Career highlights and awards

Early life and high school

Ingram was born on August 15, 1996.[1] He is the son of Don Ingram, who played basketball in the Marines, and grew up in Danville, Illinois.[2] In middle school he competed in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) play for Team Trouble, alongside future Nevada player Jordan Caroline.[3]

Ingram standing on a basketball court looking up.
Ingram playing for Simeon in 2013

He attended Danville High School for two seasons. He competed in AAU for Mean Streets, and Jabari Parker, who played on a different AAU team, convinced him to transfer to Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. As a junior, Ingram was utilized as the sixth man on the Class 4A state championship team.[2] Due to residency issues, Ingram was declared ineligible by the Illinois High School Association on January 15 but was reinstated on February 5.[4] Milton Doyle, a native of Chicago, persuaded Ingram to come to Loyola (Illinois) after receiving a scholarship offer from Hampton University. One of the reasons Ingram picked the team is because his older brother DaJuan Gouard, who is now a community college coach, played for a Horizon League championship in 2002 with the Ramblers.[2]

College career

When Ingram arrived at Loyola, the team had had three straight losing seasons, but he liked coach Porter Moser and the "family" feel of the program.[2] He was an important piece of the 2014–15 Loyola Ramblers team that won the 2015 College Basketball Invitational as a freshman, averaging 5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.[5][6] As a sophomore, he posted 7.4 points per game.[2] His best game that year was a 19-point performance against Bradley on March 3, 2016.[7]

I love Donte. He is a mismatch guy. He can switch defensively on (positions) one through four, he can guard a big inside, we trap the post with him, he can knock down a 3, put it on the deck and you can post him up. That gives us a lot of options offensively and defensively.

Porter Moser, coach of Loyola Ramblers men's basketball[8]

Ingram sprained his MCL in early December 2016 but recovered quickly.[8] On December 17, he had 20 points and nine rebounds in an 81–75 win over UIC and hit the three-pointer to send the game to overtime.[9] Ingram set career highs with 30 points and 10 rebounds in a 102–98 loss to Drake on December 29.[10] He improved his scoring average to 13.6 points per game as a junior and added 6.6 rebounds per game. Ingram led the conference in three point shooting with 47.3 percent and was named to the Third Team All-Missouri Valley Conference.[11]

As a senior, Ingram averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He was named to the Second team All-Missouri Valley Conference.[12] Ingram was an important contributor to Loyola's 10–1 start, the best in 52 years, which included an upset of Florida.[13] He contributed 18 points and eight rebounds in the final of the 2018 Missouri Valley tournament against Illinois State and was named most outstanding player. With the win, Loyola reached its first NCAA tournament since 1985.[2] The Ramblers received an 11 seed, and in the Round of 64, Ingram hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on a pass from Marques Townes to defeat Miami 64–62 and finished with 13 points.[14] He led Loyola on an improbable run to its first Final Four since 1963, scoring 12 points in the Elite Eight win against Kansas State.[15] He received some media attention when a message from Chance the Rapper prompted him to open a Twitter account.[16] After the season Ingram signed with Edge Sports International in preparation for the 2018 NBA draft.[17]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Loyola (Ill.) 37118.3.447.373.6453.10.60.30.15.0
2015–16 Loyola (Ill.) 322625.9.394.281.8434.10.80.40.37.4
2016–17 Loyola (Ill.) 282932.6.529.458.6766.81.30.90.213.8
2017–18 Loyola (Ill.) 383830.6.443.392.6806.41.60.90.411.0
Source: RealGM[1]

Professional career

Ingram worked out with several teams in preparation for the NBA draft and was praised for his size, versatility, shooting and defense.[18] Despite going undrafted, he was signed by the Chicago Bulls to an NBA Summer League roster.[19] In five games in the Las Vegas Summer League, Ingram averaged 6.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, shooting .312 from the field.[1] His best game came in the fourth game against the Dallas Mavericks where he finished with 13 points, four assists and two rebounds.[20] He signed with the Mavericks on October 8, 2018.[21] He was waived three days later.[22] He was then added to the roster of the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ NBA G League affiliate.[23] On the season, Ingram appeared in 43 games for the Legends, averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

For the 2019–20 season, Ingram was acquired by the Hornets' NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.[24] On February 26, 2020, Ingram scored 17 points in a 129–115 loss to the Westchester Knicks.[25] He averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.[26]

On February 11, 2021, Ingram signed with the Nelson Giants for the 2021 New Zealand NBL season.[27] He averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

Ingram signed with Dutch club Donar of the BNXT League on June 12.[28]

Personal life

Ingram has said that he owns at least 50 pairs of sneakers. His teammate and friend, Saieed Ivey, was killed in June 2016; as a memorial, Ingram had custom Nike shoes made with the number 2 — Ivey's jersey number — on the top of the shoe and the acronym FINAO (failure is not an option), one of Ivey's favorite sayings, on the side.[2]

References
  1. "Donte Ingram Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  2. Ryan, Shannon (March 6, 2018). "Donte Ingram hopes to inspire a Chicago recruiting wave at Loyola". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  3. Ryan, Shannon (March 21, 2018). "Nevada's Jordan Caroline, the son and grandson of Illinois legends, never got a call from 'dream school'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  4. Kane, Colleen (March 6, 2013). "Simeon All Access: Spotlight's on Donte Ingram". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  5. Kenney, Madeline (April 1, 2018). "Ben Richardson, Donte Ingram reflect on legacy they left on Loyola basketball". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  6. Schultz, Nick (June 21, 2018). "Ingram Raising Eyebrows in NBA Workouts as Draft Approaches". Loyola Phoenix. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  7. "Loyola of Chicago beats Bradley, faces Wichita St. Friday". ESPN. Associated Press. March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  8. Helfgot, Mike (December 22, 2016). "Donte Ingram's return bolsters Loyola, but Ramblers need more depth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  9. "Loyola-Chicago survives in OT against rival Illinois-Chicago". ESPN. Associated Press. December 17, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. "Drake repels late charge, beats Loyola of Chicago 102–98". ESPN. Associated Press. December 29, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. Kenney, Madeline (March 1, 2017). "Three Ramblers Named to All-MVC Teams". Loyola Phoenix. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  12. Ryan, Shannon (February 27, 2018). "Loyola's Clayton Custer named MVC player of the year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  13. Ryan, Shannon (December 9, 2017). "Loyola gaining attention with its best start since 1965". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  14. "Buzzer-beater lifts Loyola-Chicago over Miami in NCAA return". ESPN. Associated Press. March 15, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  15. "Final Four bound: No. 11 Loyola beats Kansas State 78–62". ESPN. Associated Press. March 25, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  16. Wilson, Nubyjas (March 21, 2018). "March Madness 2018: Loyola-Chicago's Donte Ingram embodies Ramblers, Windy City spirit". The Sporting News. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  17. Schultz, Nick (April 10, 2018). "Ingram Signs With Agency, Could Test NBA Draft". Loyola Phoenix. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  18. Ryan, Shannon (June 18, 2018). "After thrilling Final Four run, Loyola's Donte Ingram working to take next step — to the NBA". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  19. Kenney, Madeline (June 22, 2018). "Loyola's Donte Ingram signs Summer League deal with Bulls". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  20. Andrews, Malika (July 13, 2018). "Donte Ingram is showcasing his game for Bulls' Summer League team while looking for his next gig". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  21. "Mavericks sign Donte Ingram and Rashad Vaughn, waive Jones and Miller-McIntyre". Mavs.com. October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  22. "Mavericks Release Rashad Vaughn, Donte Ingram". Mavs.com. October 11, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  23. "Legends Announce Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  24. "Greensboro Swarm Acquires Donte Ingram". NBA.com. October 25, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  25. "Peters Sets Assist Record As Knicks Stop Swarm". NBA.com. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  26. "Donte Ingram: Suffers through off shooting night". CBS Sports. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  27. O'Connell, Tim (February 11, 2021). "Clearance for Giants American imports gets huge thumbs up". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  28. "Donar Groningen signs Donte Ingram". Sportando. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
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