Among the great stories of the 2023 World Cup, it is difficult to miss the qualification of South Sudan for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The South Sudanese have indeed won their ticket by finishing 17th (one spot ahead of France ) of the competition, the best record for an African team. A huge feat that would not have been possible without a certain Luol Deng.
When we think of Luol Deng, we think first and foremost of what he accomplished in the NBA. Because casually, the former Chicago Bulls player had a short career in the Big League: 15 NBA seasons, 15 points and 6 rebounds on average in more than 900 games, two All-Star selections (2012, 2013 ), a nomination for the second best defensive team of the season (2012), and another in the NBA All-Rookie First Team (2005).
In short, a very honorable track record. But Luol Deng’s greatest feat since playing in the world of the orange ball is perhaps the one he has just accomplished near Manila in the Philippines. Not as a player, but as President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation.
Let the party start, South Sudan ????#FIBAWC x #WinForSouthSudan ???????? x #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/AXD1GyQNRH
— FIBA (@FIBA) September 2, 2023
By winning against Angola (101-78) on Saturday to finish with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses at the World Cup, South Sudan has won the precious sesame for the Paris Olympic Games, ahead of all the other African teams. This small East African state, independent since July 2011 only, had never managed to qualify for an edition of the Olympic Games. He had never even participated in a Basketball World Cup. Suffice it to say, it’s historic.
And all this is above all thanks to Luol Deng.
“It’s an amazing story. This is the story of an outsider, not just for South Sudan, not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world. It’s a feel-good story that a lot of people can relate to. It’s a unique achievement because it goes beyond basketball.”
–Luol Deng, via ESPN
When the former NBA All-Star decided to hang up his sneakers for good in 2019 and was thinking about his career change, he quickly knew what he wanted: to get involved in one way or another to help his country, South Sudan. Although he represented Great Britain in international competitions during his playing years and holds British nationality (in addition to South Sudanese nationality), Luol Deng was born in Wau in Sudan (currently South Sudan) and has always remained very attached to his roots.
While at the Chicago Bulls in the early 2010s, Deng used his influence to push Sudanese living in the United States to vote for independence for South Sudan in the referendum. Also during his playing career, Luol Deng got involved with the “Lost Boys of Sudan”, children who arrived in America after having been in refugee camps in Kenya to flee the civil war in Sudan (1983-2005). He also created the Luol Deng Foundation in 2005 to “create opportunity through sport and development”, from the United States to South Sudan to Great Britain. Strong initiatives, which in a way traced its current destiny.
Luol Deng, at the heart of South Sudan’s rise
In November 2019, Luol Deng took control of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. Its main objective? Building a solid program to become a nation that matters on the African continent (and beyond), and using the orange ball to bring hope to a country ravaged by conflict.
For this, Deng has worked on several aspects that he considers essential. First of all, he has assembled a solid staff which is now led by coach Royal Ivey, a former NBA player and currently assistant coach at the Houston Rockets. Ivey and Luol Deng notably played together in high school (at Blair Academy), under the orders of a certain Joe Mantegna who is now an assistant coach for South Sudan.
“Luol Deng is the heart and soul of it all. He is the president. Without Luol, I wouldn’t be sitting here. He had a beautiful vision. I believed in this vision and then everything fell into place,” said coach Royal Ivey via FIBA, while his assistant Joe Mantegna added: “He is changing the trajectory of his country. He uses basketball to convey hope. It makes me very humbled to be part of this climb and to see what is happening in South Sudan through the success of this team.”
Ensuite, Luol Deng provided financial support to develop his program and gradually allow players to train in better conditions. “We were training outdoors with eagles flying overhead, and the pitches were flooded” remembers the former Bulls player. As you have understood, the South Sudanese came from very far away.
Through its influence and its aura, Deng also managed to bring in top South Sudanese talent to build the most competitive team possible. We think of Wenyen Gabriel for example, an NBA player who made his debut with the national team in August 2023. Many of them have a background that resembles that of Luol Deng, so the connection is almost natural. As a reminder, Deng left Sudan to avoid civil war when he was just a kid, before going to Egypt where he met a certain Manute Bol who will then guide him on the path of basketball (path which he will continue in London, Great Britain).
Finally, in addition to all this, Luol Deng put on the coaching cap during certain qualifying matches during the Africa Zone international windows (when Royal Ivey was busy with NBA obligations), and provided support as an assistant coach this year. A man of all trades!
“WHERE WE GOING?”
“PARIS!”
NBA veteran Luol Deng and the South Sudan Basketball Team celebrate their first ever Olympics qualification in the locker room ????pic.twitter.com/uI55dZssi2
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 2, 2023
Since Luol Deng took over as head of the federation just over three years ago, South Sudan have played the quarter-finals of the AfroBasket in 2021, achieved the best record for an African team in of his very first participation in the World Cup, and therefore won his ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Results as surprising as they are intriguing for a team that no one was expecting there. And Luol Deng has no intention of stopping there.
“We want to keep building. We are very happy with where we are. We are very excited about what we are building. I really believe that we can be on the same stage as the rest of the world with basketball. We have a lot of talent and even more talented guys from South Sudan coming up behind.”
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Sources texte : ESPN, FIBA, Olympics.com, Al Jazeera English
2023-09-04 18:22:00
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