Journey almost complete for Majok: Sudan native set to suit up for Huskies
By David Borges, New Haven Register, Conn.
Dec. 13--STORRS -- One week from today, in a game where the focus might otherwise be on Marcus Jordan's footwear, Ater Majok will check in at the scorer's table within the first few minutes of play -- or possibly even be introduced in the starting lineup -- and step out onto the XL Center floor.
At that point, Majok will have c o m p l e t e d a remarkable journey, one in which he has overcome civil war in his native Sudan, the bleak conditions of an Egyptian refugee camp, a different and foreign culture in Australia, the sometimes contradictory NCAA Eligibility Center and, most recently, questions about his recruitment.
At some point, Majok, a 6-foot-11 forward with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, will block a shot, maybe haul in a rebound, perhaps slam home a two-handed putback dunk. Tears will well in the eyes of assistant coach Andre LaFleur, who spearheaded Majok's recruitment to UConn through his ties in Australia . In Hartford , the crowd will go wild; in his adopted hometown of Sydney , and perhaps in his true hometown of Khartoum , Sudan , thousands of his countrymen will swell with pride.
Ater Majok's next journey will have officially begun.
"I'm going to be more happy than anyone, knowing what he's gone through to have this opportunity," said LaFleur. "His first basket, or block, or anything positive, is going to probably be very emotional for me."
For Majok, his long-anticipated UConn debut next Sunday at 1 p.m. against Central Florida will bring more of a sense of relief than anything else.
"Man, I just can't wait," he said, bedecked in a sweater, slacks and tie prior to a recent UConn home game. "It's been a long time. There have been a lot of hiccups, a lot of road bumps. It was a hard journey."
Indeed.
Majok may end up being the missing ingredient that helps put the Huskies over the top. Head coach Jim Calhoun has trumpeted his impending arrival after nearly every UConn game thus far.
Or, he could be another Ajou Deng, who never materialized into the star so many expected. Or something in between. For his part, Majok believes he will be a difference-maker for the Huskies.
"I'm a very energetic player," he said. "I'm all over the place. I bring shot-blocking, rebounding and defense, and also scoring. What we need right now is rebounding and blocking shots, and that's the first thing I'm going to bring to the table. Scoring will be there, but my main focus is filling in what the team needs."
LaFleur concurs, though he pleads for patience.
"It's important for him to realize he doesn't have to come in and score 30 points and get 20 rebounds, just because we've been talking about him for two years," said the coach. "He has to have a positive impact on the team."
Still, no matter how Majok's UConn career unfolds -- whether he's the next Ajou Deng or Emeka Okafor -- he has already had a positive impact on the basketball world.
A TRAIL BLAZER
This past August, after completing summer courses at UConn, Majok earned a spot on the Australian national basketball team -- better known as the Boomers. Coached by current San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown, Majok helped the Boomers win their first-ever Boris Stankovic Continental Cup in Kunshan City, China, defeating Turkey, Angola and the host nation.
Brown, a former Boston University player who coached professionally in Australia for 16 years before joining the Spurs in 2002, had never seen Majok play before training camp. But his name was familiar.
"In the latter part of my coaching days, I had heard about a player named Ater Majok," Brown recalled. "He was like a ghost, sort of clandestine in regards to identifying who were the people influencing him, where did he play, could you get him on a phone to recruit him."
With the blessing of Calhoun and the Huskies' program, Brown selected Majok for the team and, in the process, made history: Majok became the first African native to play for the Boomers.
At first, Majok had reservations. He had lived in Australia since 2001, after spending eight years in an Egyptian refugee camp. Despite some obvious obstacles, the Australian community had essentially welcomed him and his family with open arms.
Majok loved the idea of representing his adopted homeland, but wondered if he'd be letting his fellow Sudanese down by playing on the Australian team.
"He was very conflicted on how it would look to his community," LaFleur recalled.
But Majok decided to play and helped the Boomers to international victory. He scored 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the win over China , though his playing time was sparse after that.
"He surprised me, he surprised his teammates," said Brown. "On that stage, to do what he did right out of the gate was very impressive."
Now, if not Jackie Robinson , he is an icon to thousands of Sudanese-Australians. Next weekend, 24 teams of young Sudanese will play in a national basketball tournament in Sydney , hoping to follow in Majok's rather large footsteps.
"They are very impressed how the Australian Boomers gave Ater a chance to play," tournament organizer Mayor Chagai recently told the Daily Telegraph of Australia.
Edward Smith, who coached Majok in Australia and has won humanitarian awards for his work with the country's Sudanese refugees, added by phone: "That was big for them, especially the young kids, to know they have a chance to play for the national team. They're a new group in a new country, trying to crack into the ranks of basketball. To have Ater open those doors that have been closed before is special."
Brown will coach the Australians in next year's world championships in Istanbul , as well as in the 2012 London Olympics. Majok, he said, is "on our radar" -- though, like LaFleur, he warns UConn fans for patience.
"He is truly in the infant stages of his development," Brown said. "He's raw. He's highlymotivated, highly enthusiastic. There's not lack of self-belief. But from a skills perspective, he's just scratching the surface."
'A Boy to a Man, By Myself'
Ater Majok was born on the Fourth of July, 1987 in Sudan 's capital city of Khartoum , in the midst of Sudan 's second civil war in the span of a decade.
"I don't have a lot of memories of Sudan ," he said, "but most of the memories I have aren't memories that a normal kid would have. Memories that I wouldn't sit down and smile about, but I wouldn't cry about them, either. That's just life, you've just got to deal with it."
At age 6, Majok, his mother, Amer Jacob, and three younger brothers (Kashual, Orokey and Jacob) moved to Egypt and settled in a refugee camp. His father, James, who worked in administrative education, had to stay behind because of "something to do with the government," according to Majok.
Majok doesn't like to talk much about some of the hardships he incurred in his childhood, but he admits the toughest thing he's ever had to do was move to a different country without his father.
"It's a tough society in Egypt to grow up without a father," he said. "It was hard for me to move to Egypt and live there for eight years without my father. I basically grew up from a boy to a man by myself."
Majok, a member of the Dinka tribe that has also spawned Manute Bol and Luol and Ajou Deng, encountered racism and ethnic hatred. He once had his ear sliced open by a gang of Egyptians who had chased him down.
"It was tough living in an Arab world, where basically they don't like Africans," he said. "But ... it made me a stronger person. It made me what I am today."
James Majok eventually was able to rejoin the family, and Majok's parents appealed to the United Nations for a humanitarian visa. After a long wait, and through the help of an uncle who was already living in Australia , Majok, 13 at the time, his parents and brothers were able to move to Sydney . (He has two sisters, Agum and Awod, who are still trying to get out of an Egyptian refugee camp).
Although Sydney represented a relative haven, there were cultural obstacles, some racism. Majok concentrated on his education, taking English courses and enrolling at a pair of prestigious high schools while playing soccer and volleyball. By the time he was 15, Majok was 6-foot-7.
"We thought it was time to go in a different direction," Smith said with a chuckle.
A few years later, at the American International School in Carlingford, Majok was averaging 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four assists per game. In November, 2007, during his school's summer break, Majok came to the U.S. to play for the Heat Basketball Academy , a sort of basketball boarding school in Martinsville , Va. It was here where Majok first caught the attention of UConn.
HE'S READY
Assistant coach Patrick Sellers first saw Majok play in a tournament in Virginia .
"I couldn't believe how long and skilled and athletic he was, and that somebody like that was so under-the-radar," Sellers recalled.
Majok had hooked up with the Heat Academy through the friendship of Smith and Jason Niblett, the Heat's coach. Smith is also a close friend of LaFleur, who played and coached for 12 years in Australia . A little over a month later, LaFleur was flying to Australia to meet with Majok's family.
"When you recruit a lot and you see a lot of what people call the so-called top 10, top 20 players in the country, you see very, very talented guys, and they take a lot of plays off because they're physically more talented," LaFleur said. "Ater plays the same way every time. I don't think I've ever seen him at a different level of intensity. That doesn't mean he always plays great, that means he always plays hard."
After spurning suitors like Kentucky and Kansas , Majok committed to UConn in May, 2008, hoping for a chance to play alongside fellow African Hasheem Thabeet. That didn't happen, as a long wait for eligibility ensued.
It had nothing to do with his performance in the classroom -- Majok speaks four languages (English, Arabic, Dinka and some Italian) and is a good student. However, because he went to two different school systems in Australia -- the Australian-based curriculum of Parrametta Marist and St. Aloysius, and the American-based courses at American International, which awards U.S. diplomas -- the NCAA Eligibility Center had a tough time interpreting his transcripts.
Finally, after months of exchanging documents and waiting, Majok was cleared to enroll at UConn on Jan. 21. He'd have to wait nearly a year to be able to play, however.
More issues followed: reports by espn.com and Yahoo! Sports alleged that former team manager turned agent Josh Nochimson was a pervasive presence around Majok at the Kentucky Derby All-Star Festival in April, 2008. Majok was one of the first players interviewed by the NCAA in its review of UConn's alleged improprieties, however, and appears to be in the clear.
After UConn's run to the Final Four, Majok dipped his toes in the NBA waters, figuring it was worth a shot to at least market himself a bit to pro scouts and brass. He never truly expected to leave Storrs .
"I will be back," he told Calhoun.
And here he is. After overcoming civil war, refugee camps, separation from his father, racism, the NCAA and media reports, Majok is simply ready for some basketball.
"I'm coming in and doing what I've got to do," he said. "I believe I can make a big difference for the team."
One thing is certain: no hard screen, double-team or hollering head coach will offer more of a challenge than what Ater Majok has already been through.
"He's a kid that's seen probably more than a lot of adults have seen, coming from some family circumstances none of us can imagine, having to be relocated to another country, learn another language, and still have the ability, talent and support to succeed," said LaFleur.
"He's somebody to root for."
