Ajou Deng

Infobox NBA Player

---

caption = Ajou Deng (left) blocking a shot
position = Center
height_ft = 6
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 250
league = BBL
team = Guildford Heat
nationality = Sudanese
nationality_2 = British
birth_date = birth date and age|1978|3|22
birth_place = Wau, Sudan
college = Fairfield, Connecticut
highschool = Milford Academy,
Milford, Connecticut, USA
career_start = 2004

Ajou Ajou Deng (born 1978, in Wau, Sudan) is a British-Sudanese professional basketball player, currently signed to British Basketball League franchise Guildford Heat, where he is currently in his second spell with the club. He is the son of Aldo Deng, a former Sudanese politician and is the brother of Luol Deng, an NBA player who is also his teammate on Great Britain's national team.

College Basketball

The 6’11” centre played his university basketball in Connecticut with Fairfield Stags (2001-03) and Big East giants UCONN Huskies (1998-2001).

Professional Basketball

After graduation from Fairfield University, Ajou returned to England, where his family had been granted asylum, and joined pro outfit Brighton Bears for the 2004-05 season, where in 37 games he posted excellent numbers: 428 points total points scored, for an average per game of 11.57, garnered 10 rebounds per game and 1 and a half blocked shots per game as well. He started the following season with the Scottish Rocks before joining the Heat for the first time.

His total stats for the 2005-06 season were: 37 games played, 398 points scored (10.76 per game), 6.43 rebounds per game, and 1 blocked shot on average per game. Ajou was named BBL Player of the Month for March 2006 and was a BBL All-Star that year as well. He won a BBL Cup winner’s medal with the Brighton Bears his first year as a professional.

Ajou was forced to sit out the 2006-07 season season with his ankle injury. He received treatment and rehabilitation for this injury in Chicago, USA, where he has been staying with his brother, Luol, and trained alongside him with the Chicago Bulls team. On December 7, 2007 it was announced that Deng had returned to the Heat for a second spell to replace Carlton Aaron who had recently been cut from the team.

Ajou left the Guildford Heat at the end of February 2008, on the eve of the BBL Trophy Final. He joined Slavia Tu Kosice of Slovakia.

Career history

*2008-date flagicon|SVK Slavia Tu Kosice
*2007-2008 flagicon|UK Guildford Heat
*2007 flagicon|USA Trained with Chicago Bulls
*2006 flagicon|UK Guildford Heat
*2005 flagicon|UK Scottish Rocks
*2004-2005 flagicon|UK Brighton Bears
*2001-2003 flagicon|USA Fairfield Stags
*1998-2001 flagicon|USA Connecticut Huskies

External links

* [http://www.guildfordheat.com/biography-detail.asp?id=87&catid=14&manid=null&quantity=1 Guildford Heat Profile]
* [http://www.huskieshoops.com/huskies/men/players/dengaa.php College stats for Huskies and Stags]