Daniel Santiago

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Daniel Santiago
Position	Center
League	NBA
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Team	Unicaja Málaga
Nationality	Puerto Rico
Born	June 24, 1976 Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
College	University of New Mexico
Draft	undrafted
Pro career	2000–present
Former teams	Milwaukee Bucks Phoenix Suns Fort Worth Flyers
Awards	NAIA player of the year

Daniel Gregg Santiago (born June 24, 1976 in Lubbock, Texas, U.S.) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. Santiago is the fourth player from Puerto Rico to play in an NBA game. Santiago has played in the NBA, NCAA, NAIA, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Bayamón Cowboys. Santiago has played internationally in Italy and Spain. Santiago has been a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team since 2002. He was a member of the 2004 Puerto Rican National Team that defeated the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games.

[edit] Biography

Santiago was raised in the West Texas town of Lamesa. He attended and played Junior College basketball at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico and played NCAA Division I basketball at the University of New Mexico. He finished up his collegiate career at the NAIA school of St. Vincent, where he was named the NAIA player of the year.

In Puerto Rico, Santiago plays professionally on the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Vaqueros. He has played in Bayamón since the middle 1990s, helping the team to various national championships and tournament finals. In between 1998 and 1999, he played for the Varese Roosters of the Italian league, and between 2000 and 2001, Santiago played for the NBA's Phoenix Suns in the position of back-up center, becoming the fourth Puerto Rican, after Butch Lee, Piculin Ortiz and Ramon Rivas to make it to the NBA. He was released from the Suns after the 2001 campaign was over. In 2003, he returned to the NBA, with the Milwaukee Bucks playing two consecutive seasons.

In 2002, Santiago represented Puerto Rico as a member of that country's national basketball team at the Indianapolis World basketball championships and he also played on the 2004 Olympic team that handed the United States their first defeat in Olympic play since the US began using professional players. Santiago again represented Puerto Rico in the 2006 Basketball World Championships.

In 2005, Santiago signed a two year contract to play overseas in Europe.

[edit] Career stats

Santiago's NBA stats in 122 games are 417 points with a 3.4 PPG, 38 assists with a 0.3 APG, 260 rebounds with a 2.1 RPG, 39 steals with a 0.3 SPG, 47 blocks with a 0.4 BPG, .469 field goal percentage, and .685 free-throw percentage.