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Inside The Huskies

UW Basketball Pursues Teen Who Led Upset of U.S. Team

Deng Ngor is from a Sudanese family, was born in Alberta and now plays in Ontario.
Dan Raley|
Deng Ngor has the UW among his basketball choices.
Deng Ngor has the UW among his basketball choices. | FIBA

All Deng Ngor had to do to get noticed as a basketball player was beat the United States in a championship game, something Canada had never done before on a youth level.

Yet in June, the 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward from Erie, Ontario, by way of Peace River, Alberta, pulled off this feat in a single-handed manner.

Ngor dropped in a 3-pointer to tie the FIBA U18 AmeriCup title game and then dropped in a sweeping left-handed dunk off a lob pass to provide his Canadian team with a resounding 67-65 victory over the Americans at Domo de la Feria in Leon, Mexico.

Suddenly, everyone knew all about Deng Ngor.

Five days after being largely responsible for taking down the U.S., Ngor received a scholarship offer from the University of Washington amid a flurry of new suitors. The Huskies have been making a big push for foreign-born players this offseason.

This week, he broke down his Class of 2027 recruitment options to Rivals and singled out six teams: Auburn, Florida, Marquette, Ohio State, South Carolina and the UW.

No doubt his role as a U.S. giant killer has been a steady topic of discussion.

“It was awesome,” Ngor told the Field of 68 website. “I knew if Canada was going to beat USA anytime soon, it would be this year. We had a great group of guys. I feel that group of guys was amazing and just the best competitive guys out here in Canada. … I feel like we were physical, and when you can bang with them [USA], you can hang with them.” 

Deng Ngor, right, holds the FIBA U18 AmeriCup trophy.
Deng Ngor, right, holds the FIBA U18 AmeriCup trophy. | FIBA

Ngor was born in Peace River, Alberta, which is about 300 miles north of Edmonton, after his parents fled war-torn Sudan, and rightfully a rather remote area in Canada. He initially played for Calgary Edge Prep.

Yet his basketball possibilities brought him to the Fort Erie International Academy, a boarding school on the other side of the border north not far from Buffalo, to play at a higher level of competition. That led to his inclusion on the national team.

From Mexico, Ngor turned to the AAU circuit and played this past month for Canada's Lu Dort Elite. It went well. He averaged 12.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists across 15 games.

He now has 22 scholarship offers that stretch coast to coast, among them three SEC schools and a pair of Big Ten entries.

Ngor had the game of his young basketball life in Mexico. He finished with15 points, including the last five at the end for his team to make history. He sank 5 of 8 shots, including 2 for 2 from 3-point range. He threw in 2 rebounds and 3 steals, as well.

Of all of the variables recruiters look at, they like winners, especially those not afraid to dream big.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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