Salpointe's Majok Deng dreams to reconnect with father
This past Sunday was difficult for Tucson Salpointe forward Majok (pronounced Ma-juke) Deng.
He found out Friday that he was ranked by ESPN fourth in the West among top 2019 basketball recruits. But he wouldn't be able to share that news with his dad on Father's Day.
Since 2011, when he left his dad behind in Africa to get on a plane to Tucson, the 6-foot-5, 175-pound small forward hasn't seen his dad.
His dad was among soldiers on the run in the war. Deng, his mom and three brothers fled to Kenya on foot. His mom, working as a midwife, accepted an American’s invitation to come to America.
“They worked on the progress to get here,” Deng said. “We lost him in the war. We didn’t know where he was at the time. We didn’t know what to say. We were coming to America. Two months later, we found him.”
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The Dengs arrived in America on Jan. 22, 2011, as refugees.
Still learning English, his mother now works at a grocery store in Tucson, while Deng spends hours in the gym, working on his game, thinking about some day connecting with his dad, who remains in Africa.
Deng said his dad has started a school to help children in Africa, but he misses his family.
“We just try to stay as close as possible,” Deng said. “It’s hard to call him because there is not good connections where he’s at.”
This gives Deng tremendous motivation to make it in basketball. After a tremendous spring playing for Powerhouse Hoops’ AAU team, getting on the radar by ESPN and other recruiting services as a high-motor, athletic wing, Deng pushes himself.
“A lot of it is my family,” he said. “The way my family’s living situation they’re in. When I see things going on, it motivates me to go harder.”
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Salpointe coach Brian Holstrom was amazed at Deng’s work ethic not only on the court but in the classroom as a freshman.
“Something a lot of people in the basketball world don't see is how hard he works to be an A-B student at Salpointe,” Holstrom said.
His basketball skills are off the charts.
“He’s 6-5 with great hands and shooting touch,” Holstrom said. “In the past year, he has gotten a lot stronger, making him a matchup nightmare. To me, what makes him really special is his passion and enthusiasm for the game and his team.
“I know ‘He’s a hard worker’ gets thrown around about a lot of players but Majok had to be coached about overtraining. In a given day, he will lift weights, do an individual workout, have a team practice and then still want to shoot after if someone doesn’t tell him to rest.”
Holstrom describes Deng’s abilities as a “highlight reel.” He averaged 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds on Salpointe’s 20-win varsity team as a freshman.
“But I also get a kick out of watching him during timeouts or when other players make a play,” Holstrom said. “He is joyous when anything good is happening with the team and just cherishes whatever opportunities come his way.”
Deng’s dream are big, NBA big. His cousin, he says, is Miami Heat forward Luol Deng, who was the seventh overall pick of the 2004 NBA draft (by the Suns but acquired by the Chicago Bulls in a trade) out of Duke. Majok said he’s tried to reach out to Luol Deng.
“I try talking to him but he’s big,” Deng said.
It is Deng’s dad he wants to connect with. And maybe basketball will be the vehicle to make that dream come true.
“Him not being around me is a big motivation,” Deng said. “I just want to see where this will take me. It might bring him around me.
“(The NBA) is really a hard thing to get there. But I think about it. I put it in my dreams.”
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-460-1710. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.
