Basketball a passport, pathway for Deng Adel

Jeff Greer
Louisville Courier Journal

It was a Saturday like so many others for 16-year-old Deng Adel.

Louisville Deng Adel with the slam dunk against William & Mary. 
Nov. 14, 2016

He was in a basketball gymnasium, playing his new favorite game. For reasons he can no longer remember, he had more energy than usual, and it all came rushing out in one play.

Adel stole the ball, broke free from the pack and sprinted toward the basket. As he leaped for a layup, he kept rising higher. He jumped so high that his elbow was level with the rim, the ball high above it. Then he thundered in a one-handed slam dunk. 

Everyone there was shocked.

"Even me," Adel said. "I was like, 'Oh, man!' and I just went for it. I couldn't believe it. It changed everything."

Almost everything Adel says is accompanied by a smile that serves as the period ending his sentence, and his reaction to that particular anecdote, a personal favorite of his, is no different. It was the first time Adel dunked a basketball, and it served as a high-flying harbinger of what was to come.

Adel is now a 19-year-old sophomore at U of L. Three years after his first dunk and six years after starting his basketball career, the 6-foot-7 small forward is on the brink of another big leap – into college hoops stardom. 

He has come a long way for a kid whose family left war-torn and impoverished South Sudan when he was 4 and, after a few years in Uganda, immigrated to the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in 2004.

A different path

Deng Adel was so young during his family's time in Uganda that his lasting memories of that period in his life revolve around going to school, doing homework and playing soccer. He remembers his four siblings were there, plus a few cousins and several other relatives.

Same goes for his early childhood in Australia, which he recalls was a tough transition. Like he experienced in Uganda, it was difficult learning a new culture and adjusting to the language.

But the things that served him well then still serve him well now: He was outgoing and friendly – and blessed with elite athletic talent.

Within a month or two of moving to Australia, Adel said he started making friends and learning new words and phrases from them.

A young Deng Adel.

He was a soccer star at every level he played, playing mostly as an attacker, and he mentions that he was pretty good at Australian rules football, too. He was good enough at soccer, Adel remembered, that he was invited to play for a club team that would travel all over the world for competitions when school was out of session, but his parents didn't want him going that far from home. In their eyes, he'd already bounced around enough, Adel said.

It wasn't until his family moved into the actual city of Melbourne, which has 4.5 million residents and one of the most diverse populations in the world, that he was introduced to his new love. Basketball, Adel said, was everywhere. There were courts all over the city, and all of his friends were playing.

He also kept growing thanks to his mom's height genes, hitting 6-foot-5 by 10th grade.

"And at some point, people started asking me, 'Why are you playing soccer? You're so much bigger than all the other kids,'" Adel said, once again flashing his grin. "It made sense to switch."

Adel played his first real basketball game - with officials and scorekeeping – in 2010, when he was 14-years-old. He joined a club called the Keilor Thunder and was the center on the fifth team. Dante Exum, the fifth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, and Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, were on the first team, four levels ahead of him.

Adel hated it.

"I wasn't allowed to dribble or anything like that because I was supposed to be a big man," he said.

After switching teams, Adel quickly discovered his ability to score, dribble and create opportunities for teammates. 

His former school and club coach, Eric Minerve, recalled one scrimmage when Adel, then 16 and running with the Waverley Basketball Association's senior team, scored 18 points against Nunawading and its veterans from the South East Australian Basketball League. 

"That was the turning point for Deng," Minerve said, "and his inner belief as well as confidence that he could play against anyone in the country."

Adel realized he might be good enough to make something out of his basketball career beyond Melbourne and Australia. That he was close family friends with Mangok Mathiang helped him take that next step.

Coming to America

Adel desperately wanted to leave Australia to pursue tougher basketball competition, and he knew the United States was the place to do that. But his parents were concerned: If he enrolled at an elite prep program on the west coast of Florida as he desired, Adel would be more than 9,000 miles from his family, a good 22 hours via airplane.

But Mathiang, whose family escaped the Sudan in a caravan in the middle the night when he was 5-years-old, had already taken the Sudan-Australia-U.S. route, playing prep ball in Illinois and Florida before continuing his college career at U of L.

Mathiang and Adel's families knew each other well. The duo played together in Melbourne, with Mathiang serving as the chatterbox elder and Adel the quiet, eager-to-learn youngster who feared physical contact with his older friend.

"That was the major thing because here I am, I can’t even go outside by myself without (family) worrying, but Mangok was already doing it," Adel said. "That made it easier for them."

Eventually, Loren Jackson, who has worked with the Sudanese community in Australia for nearly two decades, brought Adel to Florida, where he played for Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Fla.

Jackson was his coach and guardian, the same role he has in Mathiang's life. He described Adel as a "hard-working, humble young man who wanted to get better, both academically and athletically."

"You can measure height and wingspan – you can measure a lot of different things," Jackson said. "But what you can’t measure is what is in someone’s chest cavity, their ability to strive for more. That’s something that stands out for (Adel). He wants to be the best."

Adel averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and four assists as a high school senior, and he climbed up the national recruiting rankings, with one recruiting site, Scout.com, rating him the 23rd-best prospect in the nation.

Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi and Virginia Tech competed with U of L for Adel's services, but the chance to play with the Cards – and alongside Mathiang – was too good to pass up, Adel said.

Rollercoaster start

Adel turned heads once he arrived at college. Former Louisville point guard Chris Jones raved about Adel after working out with him, saying he was strong, athletic and physical.

In August, Adel stood out among the freshmen during the team's series of exhibition games against the Puerto Rican national team, averaging 7.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in six contests. He earned a starting spot in coach Rick Pitino's lineup to begin the season.

Then, before U of L's third game of the season, Adel landed awkwardly in practice and sprained the MCL in his left knee. And even though he returned to action five weeks later, Adel's confidence was shaken.

Adel made nine consecutive jittery appearances before Pitino did not use him at Virginia Tech. Though he was cleared to play, Adel didn't trust his knee. He leaned on Jackson, Mathiang and Mitchell, his roommate and close friend, to get him through the frustration and pain. 

"It wasn’t anything to do with my ability, but I couldn’t play at 100 percent," Adel said. "When I was out there, it looked like I was scared because I was like, 'I really don’t want to hurt it again.' I was scared of hurting it again I still had that feeling toward the end of the season, but at some point I was just like, 'OK, you can’t make that excuse anymore.'"

Three days after Pitino benched Adel, he used him for 21 minutes against 11th-ranked Virginia. Adel, finally confident, was one of Louisville's best players in the loss, tallying 12 points and five rebounds. He scored 13 points against Boston College a week later, then he had 12 points and five rebounds in a win over No. 20 Duke, holding future No. 2 draft pick Brandon Ingram to eight points while forcing 10 turnovers.

After the game, fifth-year senior Damion Lee said his friend was the future of U of L's program.

"I've been saying this since Puerto Rico: When Deng gets it and Deng gets going, I'm telling you, next year – you can mark my words and this might be some pressure, but I think he's the type of kid to fight and live up to it – I think he'll be one of the best players in the country," Lee said.

Full circle

Fast forward eight months and Adel is one of Louisville's brightest young stars alongside Donovan Mitchell and Ray Spalding. He put together an eye-catching run of performances in the college scrimmages at Adidas Nations camp over the summer, and he was one of the primary reasons U of L was ranked 14th to start the season.

"(Adel) has always been one of those guys who works for everything he’s gotten," Mathiang said. "To know him from childhood and see him grow in such little time, both on and off the court, and see how he’s handling everything right now as a professional, it's great."

U of L’s Deng Adel (22) reacted after they defeated UK at the KFC Yum! Center.
Dec. 21, 2016

"His main goal is what can he do to help the team. He’s always watching film, talking to people. He’s always dragging Donovan with him. Wherever we’re at, he’s there. Donovan likes to say he’s Aussie by association. These two guys, they’re doing a great job. They came back and just wanted to get better."

Pitino likes Adel for multiple reasons, namely for his footwork (thanks, soccer), his defensive instincts and his athleticism. Everything else, Pitino said, is teachable. 

Adel is third on the team in scoring, fifth in rebounding, third in assists and second in steals. After a dismal start to the season, he has made 42.9 percent of his shots since the Purdue win on Nov. 30.

"The one thing about players today is they judge good play by scoring, and that’s OK," Pitino said. "The bad part about that is when they don’t score, they think they’re playing poorly, and that’s not always the case. Sometimes you have to give credit for defense. It could be that the focus is on Deng Adel to stop him sometimes, (but) if he’s doing other things, he’s not playing poorly. (And) we point it out to them."

The NBA chatter is edging back into conversations about Adel, who has a 7-foot wingspan. His 18-point, six-rebound game against Kentucky put his variety of talents on display.

Adel, Pitino said in October, is the only player on U of L's team with the "urgency" to get to the NBA. He meant it as a compliment, that Adel is so hungry to make money playing basketball that he will take any coaching and work hard.

Jackson joked that the dollar figures in NBA contracts would be motivation for anybody, but that he and Adel put it "in perspective of making sure you’re ready, making sure that it’s the right time."

For his part, Adel, who said he is currently interested in being an athletic administrator when his playing days are over, is in no rush.

"I’m not stupid enough to make a decision when I’m not ready," Adel said. "Yes, I want to go pro because I want to help my family. But at the same time, I can’t go pro if we’re not winning.

"My dad wants me to get my degree. The longer I stay and the better I prepare myself, it works on both sides. The main goal is to be ready when you go professional, not go for a few years and be out. And, you know, I'm still only 19."

How's that for a not-so-subtle reminder? Three years ago Adel was in Melbourne, learning how to play basketball. Now he's talking about his bright future in the game.

He was right: That dunk three years ago did change everything.

Reach Jeff Greer at jgreer@courier-journal.com. 

DENG ADEL
Born: Feb. 1, 1997, South Sudan
Relocated: Uganda (2003)
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia (2004)
High School: Victory Rock Prep, Bradenton, Fla., Class of 2015
Position: Small forward
Season averages: 28.9 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game