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Deng's Long Journey Reaches Final Four
April 2, 2004
By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Luol Deng's life has changed dramatically.
For years, his mission was survival. Deng was 5 when his family escaped Sudan's bloody civil war by moving to Egypt, where they lived in poverty. The family wound up being granted asylum in England. There, Deng's interest in basketball blossomed and turned his path toward the United States.
Now the 18-year-old is on the verge of basketball stardom for Duke. He was the MVP of the Atlanta Regional, leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four. His mission now is to match what Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony accomplished last year - leading his team to an NCAA championship.
And Deng hardly sounds fazed by the pressure of playing Connecticut in Saturday's national semifinals.
"This is just basketball," he said Friday.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds this season for Duke. Deng's long arms and versatility make him a tough matchup for opponents. He can play inside or on the perimeter and nothing about his game seems forced, whether moving without the ball to find an opening on the wing or crashing the boards. And he seems just as comfortable scoring in the flow of the game as when coach Mike Krzyzewski calls his number.
"What I did in the beginning of the year was I waited until I get the ball and try to score," he said. "Now what I'm trying to do is put myself in a position where I can make a play."
Deng's drive and work ethic are unquestioned. After scoring three points on 1-for-14 shooting in a home loss to Georgia Tech, he came back three days later and burned North Carolina for 25 points, making 12 of 16 shots in the regular-season finale.
He's only gotten better since, averaging 18 points and shooting 57 percent in the Blue Devils' tournament wins over Alabama State, Seton Hall, Illinois and Xavier. In the final against the Musketeers, Deng made three big plays down the stretch to become the first Duke freshman to earn regional MVP honors. First, he hit a 3-pointer off an inbound pass to tie the game at 56. Next, he corralled an offensive rebound and passed out to J.J. Redick, who drained a 3 and put the Blue Devils ahead for good with 2:55 remaining.
Finally, he soared above the rim to tap back in a missed shot, giving the Blue Devils a five-point cushion.
"I think he lost his freshman title halfway through the season," senior Chris Duhon said. "He's been a big-time player for us throughout the season. He's confident about what he can do now. And we're confident and expect him to do those kind of things."
Deng is a member of the Dinka tribe, which produced Manute Bol and many of the world's tallest people. His father, Aldo, was Sudan's minister of transportation in the mid-1980s, and as fighting intensified in the country, he sent his family to Egypt.
A year later, Aldo told government officials he was going on vacation. Instead he joined the family and never looked back. It was in Egypt that Luol Deng took an interest in basketball, after seeing Bol teach his brothers the game.
He lived there for two years before moving to England. At 14, Deng enrolled at Blair Academy, a New Jersey boarding school, to begin his prep basketball career. Two years later, he was being recruited by Krzyzewski.
"He would tell me stories about his country and all the violence going on, along with all the moving around he has done," said Connecticut forward Charlie Villanueva, who was a teammate at Blair, and Deng's roommate for a while. "I am just really proud of him and how far he has made it."
Now, Deng could be the key to the Blue Devils' title hopes.
"I haven't felt like a freshman," he said, "for a while."
