Deng Adel (born 1 February 1997) is a South Sudanese-Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals.

Deng Adel
Adel with the Louisville Cardinals in 2018
No. 10 – Brisbane Bullets
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1997-02-01) 1 February 1997 (age 27)
Juba, Sudan
(present-day South Sudan)
NationalitySouth Sudanese / Australian
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeLouisville (2015–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012Waverley Falcons
2018–2019Raptors 905
2019Cleveland Cavaliers
2019Canton Charge
2019–2020Long Island Nets
2020–2021Illawarra Hawks
2021–2022Maine Celtics
2022–2024Ottawa BlackJacks
2022Bakken Bears
2023BC Balkan Botevgrad
2023–2024Boulazac Basket Dordogne
2024–presentBrisbane Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Adel was born in Juba under what is now South Sudan. As a youth, he, his mother and five siblings fled war-torn Sudan and moved to Uganda to set up a move to Australia when Deng was 8 years of age. He settled in Melbourne in 2004 and lived in the suburbs of Fitzroy and Sunshine. Basketball only came into Adel's life when his friends introduced him to it as a 14-year-old. From there, he began playing locally for the Sunshine Longhorns, and in 2012, he played for the Waverley Falcons in the Big V.[1][2] Growing up, Adel also played soccer and ran track.[3]

Adel attended high school at both Keilor Downs College[4] and Xavier College.[1] In August 2013, he moved to the United States after landing a rare $20,000 basketball scholarship to Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Florida.[5]

High school career

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As a junior at Victory Rock Prep in 2013–14, Adel averaged 22 points and eight rebounds per game in helping the Blue Devils to a 24–8 record.[6]

In November 2014, Adel signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Louisville.[6] Adel considered offers from Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi and Virginia Tech before choosing to sign with the Cardinals.[6]

As a senior at Victory Rock Prep in 2014–15, Adel averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in helping the Blue Devils to a 27–9 record. He subsequently earned all-state selection by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC).[3]

College career

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In May 2015, Adel enrolled in classes and moved to the University of Louisville for the first session of summer school.[7] He later joined the Louisville Cardinals for the 2015–16 season, and was made a starter for the team to begin his freshman campaign. He started for the Cardinals in the first two games of the season, averaging 4.5 points in 17 minutes while helping the team win both games. However, on 20 November, the day before the team's third game, Adel landed awkwardly in practice and was subsequently ruled out for three to six weeks with an MCL sprain in his left knee.[8] He returned to full practice on 21 December,[9][10] and made his return to the court the following night against UMKC.[11] On 30 January 2016, he recorded season highs in points (12), rebounds (five) and minutes played (21) against Virginia.[12] On 6 February, he had a season-best game with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes as a starter in a 79–47 win over Boston College.[13]

As a junior, Adel led Louisville in scoring with 15.0 points per game and also pulled down 5.2 rebounds per game. After completing his junior year at Louisville, Adel announced his intentions on enter the 2018 NBA draft. Originally, he entered the draft without hiring an agent, but after a few weeks, he hired an agent of his own accord, thus removing any chance of him returning to Louisville for his senior year at the university.[14]

Professional career

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Raptors 905 (2018–2019)

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After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Adel signed with the Houston Rockets for the NBA Summer League.[15] On 14 September 2018, Adel signed with the Toronto Raptors on a training camp contract.[16] After appearing in two preseason games, Adel was waived on 12 October.[17]

After being waived by Toronto, Adel spent the 2018–19 season playing for Toronto's G-League affiliate, Raptors 905. Through mid-December, he averaged 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game.[18]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2019)

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On 15 January 2019, Adel signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a two-way contract.[19] Adel made his NBA debut on 19 January 2019 against the Denver Nuggets, scoring three points with two rebounds in five minutes of play in a 124–102 loss.[20] With the Cavaliers, he would go on to average, 1.7 points, 1 rebound, and 0.3 assists per game.

Long Island Nets (2019–2020)

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On 30 July 2019, Adel signed with the Brooklyn Nets.[21] On 14 October 2019, Adel was waived by the Nets.[22] He then landed with the Long Island Nets.[23] He scored a season-high 29 points in addition to 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks on 29 November, in a loss to the Raptors 905.[24] On 8 January 2020, he was sidelined against the Grand Rapids Drive with an undisclosed injury.[25] Adel averaged 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.[26]

Illawarra Hawks (2020–2021)

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On 23 July 2020, Adel signed with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL).[27] He set an NBL record for most field goal attempts without a make when he shot 0–15 during a game against the Cairns Taipans on 20 February 2021.[28][29] He suffered from injuries throughout the season that Hawks coach Brian Goorjian believed hampered his output.[30] On 3 May 2021, Adel and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways.[30] He averaged 5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game.[30]

Maine Celtics (2021–2022)

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On 28 October 2021, Adel signed with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League.[31] On 13 March 2022, Adel was waived.[32]

Ottawa Blackjacks (2022)

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On 23 February 2022, Adel signed with the Ottawa Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.[33] On 26 May, he made his debut with a franchise-record 37 points alongside nine rebounds and five assists in a 90–87 loss to the Fraser Valley Bandits.[34]

Bakken Bears (2022)

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On 26 July 2022, Adel signed with Bakken Bears of the Danish Basketligaen.[35]

BC Balkan Botevgrad (2023)

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On 3 March 2023, Adel signed with BC Balkan Botevgrad of the Bulgarian National Basketball League.[36]

Ottawa BlackJacks and Boulazac Basket Dordogne (2023–2024)

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Adel re-joined the Ottawa BlackJacks for the 2023 season.[37]

On 12 July 2023, Adel signed with Boulazac Basket Dordogne of the LNB Pro B.[38]

Adel re-joined the Ottawa BlackJacks for the 2024 season.[39]

Brisbane Bullets (2024–present)

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On 15 April 2024, Adel signed with the Brisbane Bullets for the 2024–25 NBL season.[40]

National team career

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Adel was eligible to represent both the Australian and South Sudanese national teams in international competitions, but made clear his intentions to represent Australia in 2015.[41] On 24 May 2019 he was named in the Australian Boomers' squad for 2019 FIBA World Cup.[42]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Cleveland 19 3 10.2 .306 .261 1.000 1.0 .3 .1 .2 1.7
Career 19 3 10.2 .306 .261 1.000 1.0 .3 .1 .2 1.7

College statistics

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Louisville 22 8 12.1 .456 .350 .741 2.1 .6 .3 .0 4.0
2016–17 Louisville 33 30 30.1 .422 .346 .771 4.5 2.1 .6 .4 12.1
2017–18 Louisville 34 33 33.1 .447 .350 .786 5.2 2.8 .6 .3 14.9
Career 89 71 26.8 .437 .348 .776 4.1 2.0 .5 .3 11.2

Personal life

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Adel's younger brother, Madut Akec, played college basketball for the South Florida Bulls,[43][44] and has played in the Basketball Africa League with AS Douanes.[45]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ward, Roy (4 March 2015). "Rising star Deng Adel chases NBA dream with Louisville Cardinals college team". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Player statistics for Deng Adel". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Deng Adel - 2015-16 Men's Basketball". GoCards.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Keilor Downs College Ex-Student, Reaching The Heights". kdc.vic.edu.au. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  5. ^ Lucas, Brendan (23 August 2013). "Melbourne teenager Deng Adel lands US basketball scholarship". Herald Sun. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "Cards' Basketball Signing Class Among Nation's Best". GoCards.com. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. ^ Greer, Jeff (11 May 2015). "Deng Adel enrolls at U of L, starts workouts". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  8. ^ Greer, Jeff (21 November 2015). "Louisville's Deng Adel has sprained MCL". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  9. ^ Greer, Jeff (19 December 2015). "Deng Adel nears return from knee injury". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  10. ^ Greer, Jeff (21 December 2015). "Louisville's Deng Adel returns to practice". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  11. ^ "No. 16 Louisville pulls away from Missouri-Kansas City 75-47". ESPN.com. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  12. ^ Jones, Steve (30 January 2016). "Adel's play a silver lining in U of L's loss". Courier-Journal.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  13. ^ "No. 19 Louisville rolls past Boston College 79-47". ESPN.com. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  14. ^ Moore, Annie (9 April 2018). "Deng Adel to hire agent, stay in NBA Draft". NBC12. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  15. ^ Sayers, Justin (23 June 2018). "Louisville's Deng Adel joins Houston Rockets for NBA Summer League". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Raptors Sign Adel and Collinsworth". NBA.com. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Raptors Waive Four". NBA.com. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Deng Adel Player Profile, Brooklyn Nets, News, Rumors, NBA Stats, NCAA Stats, G League Stats, International Stats, Events Stats, Game Logs, Bests, Awards - RealGM".
  19. ^ "Cavs Sign Deng Adel to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  20. ^ Fedor, Chris (20 January 2019). "Cleveland Cavaliers cap brutal road trip with 124-102 loss against Denver Nuggets: Chris Fedor's instant analysis". Cleveland.com. Advance Digital Ohio. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  21. ^ "BROOKLYN NETS SIGN DENG ADEL". NBA.com. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Brooklyn Nets Waive Deng Adel and John Egbunu". NBA.com. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  23. ^ "Long Island Nets Finalize Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Deng Adel: Scores season-high 29 in loss". CBS Sports. 30 November 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  25. ^ "Deng Adel: Sidelined with undisclosed injury". CBS Sports. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  26. ^ "Deng Adel: Battles through rough outing". CBS Sports. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  27. ^ "Hawks Land NBA Talent Deng Adel". nbl.com.au. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  28. ^ Jennings, Mitch (21 February 2021). "NBL Cup: Illawarra coach Goorjian still wrestling with Hawks depth chart". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  29. ^ "NBLfacts on Twitter". Twitter. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  30. ^ a b c "Hawks and Deng Adel Agree Release | NBL". NBL.com.au. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  31. ^ Boston, Evans (28 October 2021). "Deng Adel Joins Maine Celtics". NBA.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  32. ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  33. ^ "BlackJacks add former NBA forward Deng Adel". Ottawa Sun. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  34. ^ "Bandits come back to bust BlackJacks 90-87". cebl.ca. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  35. ^ "Bakken Bears henter spiller med NBA-erfaring". bakkenbears.com (in Danish). 26 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  36. ^ Obradovic, Igor (3 March 2023). "Balkan signs Deng Adel". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  37. ^ "Ottawa BlackJacks Re-Sign NBA Experienced Forward Deng Adel". CEBL.ca. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  38. ^ "OFFICIEL: DENG ADEL S'ENGAGE AVEC LE BOULAZAC BASKET DORDOGNE". Boulazac-Basket-Dordogne.com (in French). 12 July 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  39. ^ "Ottawa BlackJacks Re-Sign Starters Deng Adel and Zena Edosomwan". www.cebl.ca. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  40. ^ "Adel secures NBL return". NBL.com.au. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  41. ^ Ward, Roy (4 March 2015). "Rising star Deng Adel chases NBA dream with Louisville Cardinals college team". smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  42. ^ "Boomers announce squad for 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup". australia.basketball. Basketball Australia. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  43. ^ Knight, Joey (6 June 2018). "USF lands 6-foot-6 prep school star Madut Akec". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  44. ^ "Madut Akec". University of South Florida. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  45. ^ "AS Douanes : Pabi Gueye dévoile ses 13 joueurs pour la BAL | Basketsenegal". Basketsenegal (in French). 30 April 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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