Salpointe's Majok Deng finds new appreciation of Sudan struggles at Deng Camp

Luol was born in Sudan but was raised in the United Kingdom. After 12 years of holding his camp in the U.K., this was the first year the 6-foot-9 Deng held his camp in the United States, placing it in Omaha because of its large South Sudanese population.

Majok Deng couldn't wait to get there after receiving a camp invitation.

"It definitely made me think a lot about stuff," said Majok, whose recruiting has taken off this summer with offers from Stanford, California and Washington State. "We had conversations throughout the camp about our family and what we did as a kid.

"He told me, 'It's funny, because you're just like me when I was little, asking so many questions, being open and not being shy and wanting to be the best at what you do,' " Majok said. "I told him, 'Yeah, I felt like I did that for my dad.' He said, 'Yeah, I knew my dad and wanted to follow his footsteps.' I said, 'I don't know my dad.' He said, 'I can see where we had a relationship.'''

Majok's dad was a soldier in Sudan, but when he was separated from his family through the war, Majok and his three brothers and mom fled by foot in Kenya. Majok lost touch with his dad after arriving in America in January 2011.

He has made basketball an outlet, playing constantly, sometimes commuting from Tucson to Phoenix to play for Powerhouse Hoops' top AAU team in the spring and summer.

Deng said Luol was involved in everything with the campers.

"There wasn't a time that he did something when he wasn't there," Majok said. "If we were doing something wrong, he didn't just let it slide. He stopped us and told us. He didn't want us to cheat ourselves, because he didn't want us to fail later in life."

His new connection with Luol motivates Majok more than ever to achieve greatness.

"I really see where I'm from and how my family built things and thrived to make it," he said. "You do one thing and get better at it, keep getting better at it. You don't know how you'll be rewarded later on, but you'll be rewarded."

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