S. Waziri Hassan
Sep 10, 2023
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Training with Eagles

South Sudan Qualifies for Olympic Men’s Tournament.
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“South Sudan Qualifies for Olympic Men’s Tournament.”                                                                                  

South Sudan, the world’s newest nation (it got independence in 2011), debuted at the ongoing International Basketball Federation World Cup in the Philippines and has made history, qualifying for the 2024 Olympic men’s basketball tournament.


With parts of the country still wracked by violent conflict, the team practiced and played in places from Kenya to Tunisia to Australia to earn World Cup qualification for the first time.

Ranked 62nd in the world, earned a spot in the 12-team tournament in Paris next year as the top African nation at the just-ended FIBA World Cup. It is the lowest-ranked team to qualify for an Olympic men’s tournament since at least 2004, according to FIBA.

The Bright Stars were the lone African team (out of five) to win three games at the World Cup, going 3-2 overall, just three years after former NBA All-Star Luol Deng took over the program, which he has largely funded personally and filled by recruiting players with South Sudanese heritage.

They clinched an Olympic berth after a 101-78 win over Angola, the record 11-time African champion, in their last game of the World Cup. The Bright Stars' feat might help unite a traumatized and divided nation - even if just a little bit. It's something.

South Sudan will play at the Paris Olympics as the automatic qualifier from Africa thanks to a 101-78 win over Angola a week ago at the basketball World Cup in the Philippines.

"It's an unbelievable story. It's an underdog story that, not just for the South Sudanese, not just for Africa, but for the rest of the world," Deng said as he fought off tears." "It's a feel-good story that majority of people can relate to. It's such a unique achievement because it's beyond basketball.”

Three summers ago, Deng tapped former NBA player and longtime friend Royal Ivey to be the team's head coach. Ivey, an assistant with the Houston Rockets, started practices on concrete floors and outdoor courts that were sometimes flooded.

"It's been a humbling journey. I had heartaches, I had a lot of ebbs and flows, and it's a great feeling right now," said Ivey, a 10-year NBA veteran who mentored Deng when he came to the same high school in New Jersey. "A year ago we were practicing outside with eagles flying around while we were practicing and the courts were flooded. Like to go from there to come and play in front of these fans in the Philippines, and I'm on cloud nine right now.”

Luol Deng
Luol Deng


YOU GOTTA LOVE DENG

Deng was born in Wau, South Sudan in 1985, but didn't remain there for long. Due to the civil war, his father moved the three-year-old and his eight siblings to a tiny apartment in Egypt. It was here that the youngster met NBA star Manute Bol, who became his mentor and taught him how to play basketball.

Luol Deng moved to a South London District of Brixton with his family as a refugee. He began his professional basketball career aged twelve with the local club, Brixton TopCats, before going on to play for five different teams in the USA's National Basketball Association.

A two-time All-Star (2012, 2013) who started his NBA career in Chicago at age 19, Luol Deng spent 10 years with the Bulls, helping lead the team to eight playoff appearances. In his time as a Bull, Deng was known as an Ironman; he led the league in minutes played in 2011-12 (39.4 minutes) and 2012-13 (38.7).

But Deng is also a refugee from South Sudan, a country he is now helping rebuild by providing homes, fostering peace and driving community development through the power of sport and his role as the President of the South Sudan Basketball Federation.

Deng's work has been recognized with several accolades including the United Nations Refugee Agency's Humanitarian Award in 2008. Leading the tributes for that achievement was one of his biggest fans, former US President Barack Obama.

"In a world rife with conflict," the president said at the time, "one of our most important obligations is to look after the innocent victims – and few understand this better than Luol Deng. His dedication to bringing hope to millions is an inspiration, as is Luol's own life itself. Both on and off the court, he sets a standard of excellence and service that all Americans can look to for inspiration."

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