Former UConn men’s basketball star Adama Sanogo, the Most Outstanding Player of last year’s NCAA Tournament run, was presented his championship ring on Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-9 center walked out to center court with his Chicago Bulls teammate and fellow UConn men’s basketball alum Andre Drummond to the tune of David Barrett’s “One Shining Moment” prior to the Bulls’ game against the Detroit Pistons. The two former Huskies shared an embrace as Drummond presented the ring, which Sanogo played a critical role in earning.
Sanogo averaged 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds in his final season in Storrs and had four double-doubles during the tournament run before declaring for the NBA Draft as a junior. After going undrafted, it wasn’t long before Sanogo signed a two-way contract with Chicago.
Former Husky @AndreDrummond presented Adama Sanogo with his NCAA Championship ring from last year’s @UConnMBB title before tipoff tonight 🏆 pic.twitter.com/kZHwir9rUV
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 28, 2024
Spending most of this season in the G League, where he’s played in 15 games averaging 22.7 points and 11.9 rebounds, Sanogo has also appeared in three NBA games with the Bulls. He played a career-high nine minutes in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and had eight points on 3 of 3 shooting from the field with six rebounds on Tuesday.
Drummond, a Middletown native, was selected as the ninth overall pick of the Detroit Pistons in the 2012 NBA Draft following his lone season in Storrs. The 6-foot-10 center averaged 10 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game at UConn. Drummond finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting after his first NBA season and played eight in Detroit before stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets before signing with Chicago last season.
Sanogo was one of three UConn starters to go pro after last season with Jordan Hawkins being selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 14th pick in the draft and Andre Jackson Jr. going to the Milwaukee Bucks with the 36th overall pick.
Hawkins was presented his championship ring in November by Huskies legend and Pelicans’ Vice President of Basketball Operations Swin Cash. Jackson Jr. received his ring about a week later, on his birthday, from Bucks teammates Bobby Portis Jr. and Khris Middleton.