Daniel Sackey

#4 Daniel Sackey

Pos. G
Ht. 5-9
Wt. 175
Yr. So.
Hometown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
High School [Prev. School] Thornlea

Click here for 2020-21 preseason feature.

2019-20: Ranked fifth in the MVC and second among sophomores at 3.6 assists per game… Had a team-high 121 assists to go along with 6.3 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game and 35 steals while averaging 25.5 minutes over 34 contests (25 starts)… Scored in double figures nine times while handing out five or more assists on 10 occasions… Led the team in scoring twice, rebounding twice, assists 13 times and steals four times… Months before the college basketball season officially began, started the year with an appearance on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays, checking in at No. 9 after knocking down a buzzer-beating triple to upstage Carleton 83-80 in overtime on Aug. 8, helping Valpo top a Canadian team that had won 15 straight against NCAA competition and was coming off its 14th USports National Championship… Averaged 15.0 points per game during the four-game summer trip to his native land, helping Valpo finish the foreign tour with an unblemished record... Dished out eight assists in the regular-season opener on Nov. 5 vs. Toledo... Had usurped his career scoring watermark by halftime and finished the Nov. 9 game at Saint Louis with personal bests in points (22), made field goals (7), made 3-pointers (3) and made free throws (5). Became the first player to go perfect from beyond the arc with three or more attempts since Max Joseph on Jan. 20, 2018, the only other player to do so in the last four seasons... Led the team in assists for the fourth straight game on Nov. 17 vs. North Dakota, enjoying his third game with six assists or more... Made four critical free throws down the stretch and pulled down a significant rebound to put Valpo over the top in a 78-74 victory over Grand Canyon on Nov. 22 in the Paradise Jam opener. He finished the game with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals including a 6-of-7 showing at the foul line. The six boards were a season watermark... Had his second straight six-rebound effort on Nov. 25 vs. Nevada, equaling a personal best... Handed out eight assists and had a season-high four steals on Dec. 3 at Eastern Michigan... Became the second player in the Missouri Valley Conference with three or more eight-assist games and the first with a nine-assist, no-turnover performance during the 2019-20 season on Dec. 18 at High Point. He set a career high in the assist area while also scoring 11 points, going 6-of-8 at the foul line and drawing six fouls...  Despite battling an illness leading into the game and missing morning shootaround, had 10 points on Jan. 15 at UNI, his first double-figure output since Dec. 18 at High Point and his fourth of the season... Had his third straight double-figure scoring game on Jan. 26 vs. Evansville, posting a dozen points for his highest scoring output since late November in the U.S. Virgin Islands...  Came off the bench for the first time in 2019-20 on Feb. 9 at Loyola...  After coming off the bench in five straight games, returned to the starting lineup on Feb. 25 vs. Missouri State and posted 14 points, the second-highest total of his career... Turned in his second straight game in double figures by sharing the team lead with 11 points while dishing out a team-high five assists on Feb. 29 at Indiana State… Finished in double figures for the third time in a four-game span and matched his season high in rebounds with a 13-point, six-board effort in Valpo’s MVC quarterfinal upset over Loyola on March 6 in St. Louis… Had seven points in the MVC semifinal and eight in the championship game.

2018-19: Appeared in all 33 games for Valpo as a freshman, starting 17 times ... played nearly 18 minutes per game, averaging 4.1 points and 1.8 assists per contest ... scored in double figures six times... led Valpo in assists on seven occasions, scoring twice and steals twice ... debuted with 13 points, including 5-of-6 from the foul line, four rebounds and three assists in a Nov. 6 win over Concordia Chicago... four rebounds marked a season high, matched Dec. 2 in win over UC Riverside and Dec. 29 in victory against Purdue Northwest ... also dished out a season-best six assists in the victory over PNW… Tallied six assists Jan. 8 in win over Bradley and Feb. 5 in win at Illinois State... kicked off stretch of three straight games in double figures in scoring with team-best 13 points against Drake Jan. 26... also recorded a season-best four steals against the Bulldogs to pace Valpo... scored 10 points in season-high 40 minutes of action against Missouri State on Jan. 29, going 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line ... totaled 10 points at Evansville Feb. 2... posted 10 points and team-high four steals Feb. 13 against Indiana State... closed season with a team-best 11 points in MVC quarterfinal against Loyola March 8.

Prep: Played final season of prep basketball for Thornlea Secondary School in Thornhill, Ontario ... earned First Team All-Star honors from the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association ... ranked #16 in his class in Canada by North Pole Hoops ... selected to the 2018 BioSteel All-Canadian Game ... won the Slam Dunk Contest in the festivities leading up to the game, and then finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with five rebounds and four assists as a starter in the All-Canadian Game ... has represented Canada on the international level as well... played with the Canadian u17 squad at the 2016 FIBA u17 World Championship in Spain, helping the team to a 6-1 record and a fifth-place finish at the tournament.

Personal: Son of David and Mercy Sackey... Majoring in sports management… Parents moved to Canada from their native Ghana in the 1990s… Father is a custodian with the Winnipeg School Division and mother is a vice principal at Lord Nelson School… Mother is a pastor… Has two older brothers and an older sister… Older brother Desmond is a recent graduate of nutritional science program at the University of Manitoba… Twins Clement and Tina went to University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg for degrees in education… Three older siblings all played high school basketball and Clement was a shot-put athlete for the track & field team at Manitoba… Has a deep passion for music… The basement of his family home in Canada includes a small recording studio… Has been a drummer since elementary school and his family band plays at various church events… His family traveled to Ghana in 2012 on a church mission trip to distribute food and school supplies to folks in need… Family went to Jamaica in 2013 on a charitable mission trip… Became just the sixth Manitoban to earn a scholarship in Division I men’s basketball since the NCAA reorganized into its current competitive format in 1973.