Majok Deng
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Majok Machar Deng (born 1 March 1993) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the
Tasmania JackJumpers The Tasmania JackJumpers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Hobart, Tasmania, who entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at MyState Bank Arena and the Silverdome. T ...
of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
in the United States for
Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...
and Louisiana–Monroe. He debuted in the NBL for the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
in 2016. After three seasons for the 36ers, he joined the
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
in 2019 where he spent four seasons.


Early life and career

Deng was born in
Bor, Sudan Bor is a historic city in South Sudan’s central region, being the epicenter of national liberation revolution with multiple landmarks that tells the story. In Malual-Chaat barrack, statues of liberators and destroyed weapons are conserved ...
on 1 March 1993, and spent the first seven to eight years of his life in the country. He moved to Australia in 2006 after spending a number of years living in a Kenyan refugee camp. Deng settled down in
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
with his mother and sister. Deng originally dreamed of playing professional
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
, but a significant growth spurt of 11 cm in 12 months changed his life, switching him from soccer to
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
. Deng took up basketball in 2009, and by 2010, he was playing division three under 18s basketball for Forestville. He credits his rapid development and quick rise to his under 18s coach, Scott Freer, who gave him specialist training over a two-year period. In December 2010, Deng had a try-out with the
Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...
' Central ABL team and was successful in gaining a roster spot for the 2011 season. His Eagles teammate, former NBL player Rashad Tucker, took on a mentoring role for Deng during his rookie year. Tucker assisted in the development of Sudanese-born players. In September 2011, Deng helped the Eagles win the Central ABL Grand Final. The Eagles trailed Norwood by eight points with 87 seconds left in the third quarter, before Tucker and Deng inspired their team to 29 of the game's last 36 points. Deng entered the game with 1.34 remaining in the third, and immediately produced the sort of energy that had been lacking from his teammates for most of the night. Deng ended the night with two points, six rebounds, one steal and one block, but his most significant stat was his team's 20-point advantage with him on the floor. The Eagles won the match 82–68. In 18 games for the Eagles in 2011, he averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Deng returned to the Forestville Eagles for the 2012 Central ABL season, where in 16 games, he averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His final game for the Eagles came on 18 August 2012 in the Eagles' semi-final loss to the Sturt Sabres; he scored 13 points in the match. The Eagles went on to win the preliminary final without Deng, which advanced them to the grand final. In the grand final, they faced the Sturt Sabres, but this time got the better of the Sabres as they completed back-to-back titles with a come-from-behind 86–78 overtime victory.


College career


Indian Hills (2012–2014)

Recruited to play
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
in the United States after impressing with 23 points for South Australia in its losing Australian Under-20 Championship Grand Final, Deng was earmarked for greatness by his coach at Forestville Eagles, Andy Simons. Deng enrolled at
Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...
and joined the Warriors men's basketball program. As a freshman in 2012–13, Deng played in 27 games and was one of the first players used off the bench by coach Barret Peery. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Deng's highlight moment of the season came when he drilled three
three-pointers A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a Field goal (basketball), field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, i ...
in overtime to help Indian Hills topple Southeastern 104–99. On 7 November 2013, Deng was named the recipient of the Arnold Black Memorial Scholarship. It is awarded to a sophomore member of the Warriors who best exemplifies the strong competitive spirit shown by Black and exhibits his love for the game of basketball. As a sophomore in 2013–14, Deng averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. In his sophomore campaign, Deng's top offensive performance came when he scored 16 points in a 132–84 victory over
John Wood Community College John Wood Community College (JWCC) is a public community college in Quincy, Illinois. It is one of 48, two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act. History ...
. He guided the program to a 34–3 record in 2013–14 and a combined 60–7 record in his two years. He also led Indian Hills to the 2014 Regional and District Championships.


Louisiana–Monroe (2014–2016)

On 22 April 2014, Deng signed a
National Letter of Intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
to play Division I college basketball for Louisiana–Monroe. As a junior at Louisiana–Monroe in 2014–15, Deng played in all 38 games and made 37 starts. He recorded eight double-doubles, 25 double-figure scoring games and a pair of 20-plus scoring outings. He averaged 10.7 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game on the year. He also led the team in blocked shots with 1.3 per game, ranking third in the league. He subsequently earned third-team All-
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...
, All-Louisiana first team, and College Sports Madness All-SBC second team honours. In the CBI Tournament semi-final on 25 March 2015, Deng scored a season-high 22 points in a 71–65 win over
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. The Warhawks went on to lose the CBI Championship Series with a 2–0 defeat to Loyola. As a senior in 2015–16, Deng was the Sun Belt Conference scoring champion, averaging 19.0 points per game in league play. He also finished first in the conference in blocks (1.9 bpg), third in minutes (37.5 mpg) and offensive rebounds (5.3 orpg), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.421), sixth in three-pointers per game (2.3 3pg), seventh in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and eighth in free throw percentage (.793). He netted a trio of 30-plus scoring performances and 11 20-plus games. He won seven weekly awards including CollegeInsider.com National Mid-Major Player of the Week (7 December), Louisiana Player of the Week (21 December), College Sports Madness Player of the Week (25 January), SBC Student-Athlete of the Week (15 February), Louisiana Player of the Week (15 February), CSM Player of the Week (15 February) and SBC Student-Athlete of the Week (7 March). Overall, Deng averaged 18.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 blocks in 31 games (all starts). On 21 January 2016, he tied his career high of 33 points against
Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
, having previously scored 33 points a month earlier against Central Baptist. At the season's end, he earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team, NABC All-District 24 first team, and All-Louisiana first team.


College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Louisiana–Monroe , 38 , , 37 , , 30.7 , , .442 , , .345 , , .765 , , 7.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Louisiana–Monroe , 31 , , 31 , , 36.3 , , .479 , , .376 , , .813 , , 7.0 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 68 , , 33.2 , , .462 , , .362 , , .794 , , 7.2 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , 1.5 , , 14.2 , -


Professional career

On 17 May 2016, Deng signed a three-year deal with the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...
of the National Basketball League (NBL). Later that month, he received an invite to work out with the
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
, and later played one game for the Timberwolves' Summer League team in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. On 7 October 2016, Deng made his NBL debut in the 36ers' season opener against the
Illawarra Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games ...
. In 16½ minutes off the bench, he recorded 13 points and six rebounds in a 122–88 loss. Deng failed to surpass that mark throughout the season, as he scored in double figures just three more times. In 27 games for the 36ers in 2016–17, Deng averaged 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game. Following his rookie season in the NBL, Deng re-joined the
Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...
of the South Australian
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
for the 2017 season. In 17 games for the Eagles, he averaged 26.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. On 4 January 2018, Deng scored a career-high 16 points, including 11 points in the opening three minutes of the final period, to help the 36ers defeat the
Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...
97–86. On 17 February 2018, he set a new career high with 20 points, including 13-of-14 free throws, in a 105–82 win over the
Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...
. Deng helped the 36ers reach the 2018 NBL Grand Final series, where they lost to
Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...
in five games. In 35 games in 2017–18, he averaged 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. On 19 January 2018, Deng signed with the
Mount Gambier Pioneers Mount Gambier Pioneers is a member club of NBL1 South based in Mount Gambier, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Basketball Mount Gambier, the major administrative basketball organisation in t ...
for the 2018
SEABL The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...
season. He appeared in one game for the Pioneers before suffering a severe ankle injury that derailed his season. On 23 May 2018, he was released by the Pioneers in order for him to prepare for NBA camps in June. However, the ankle injury resulted in his NBA dream delayed at least another 12 months, and instead he re-joined the Forestville Eagles, where he had a three-game stint. With the 36ers in 2018–19, Deng 7.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Following his season with the 36ers, he re-joined the Forestville Eagles, helping them win the 2019 Premier League championship. In 19 games for the Eagles, he averaged 27.74 points, 11.63 rebounds and 2.89 assists per game. On 5 April 2019, Deng signed a three-year deal with the
Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...
. On 24 February 2021, he was ruled out for six weeks with a partial tear to his left
MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...
. In June 2021, he joined the
Cairns Marlins The Cairns Marlins are an Australian basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Marlins compete in the men's NBL1 North league and play their home games at Early Settler Stadium. The team is closely affiliated with the Cairns Taipans and C ...
of the
NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...
. On 13 July 2021, Deng re-signed with the Taipans on a new three-year deal. Following the
2021–22 NBL season The 2021–22 NBL season was the 44th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams are contesting in the 2021–22 season, which commenced on 3 December 2021. Australian broadcast rights to the ...
, he joined the
Ipswich Force Ipswich Force is a NBL1 North club based in Ipswich, Queensland. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 North. The club is a division of Ipswich Basketball Association (IBA), the major administrative basketball organisation in ...
for the 2022 NBL1 North season. He parted ways with the Taipans following the
2022–23 NBL season The 2022–23 NBL season was the 45th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2022–23 season. Australian broadcast rights to the season are held by ESPN in the second sea ...
and joined the
Logan Thunder Logan Thunder may refer to: * Logan Thunder (WNBL) The Logan Thunder was an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The team was based in Logan, Queensland. History Th ...
for the 2023 NBL1 North season. He was named to the All-NBL1 North First Team. On 28 June 2023, Deng signed with the
Tasmania JackJumpers The Tasmania JackJumpers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Hobart, Tasmania, who entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at MyState Bank Arena and the Silverdome. T ...
for the
2023–24 NBL season The 2023–24 NBL season is the 46th season of the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of ten teams contested in the 2023–24 season. Australian broadcast rights to the sea ...
.


National team career

In 2022, Deng was selected to play for the South Sudanese national team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. In August 2023, Deng was named in the South Sudan squad for the
2023 FIBA World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be h ...
.


Personal life

Deng officially became an Australian citizen in May 2021.


References


External links


NBL profileAdelaide 36ers profileLouisiana–Monroe Warhawks biowashingtonpost.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Majok 1993 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Australian people of South Sudanese descent Basketball players from Adelaide Cairns Taipans players Indian Hills Warriors basketball players Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball players People from Jonglei State Power forwards (basketball) Refugees in Kenya South Sudanese emigrants to Australia South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in the United States South Sudanese men's basketball players South Sudanese refugees Sportsmen from South Australia Tasmania JackJumpers players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players