Tag: South Sudan

Rockets assistant Royal Ivey coaches South Sudan to 2024 Olympics

Led by #Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, South Sudan recently clinched a spot in the 2024 Olympics. It’s the young nation’s first Olympic berth in any team sport.

The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s youngest nation and Africa’s 54th country on July 9, 2011. Until 2019, there wasn’t an indoor basketball arena in the country.

But that’s when former NBA player Luol Deng became president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. With Deng’s  connections to the NBA and G League, he brought players such as the Los Angeles Lakers’ Wenyen Gabriel and G League MVP Carlik Jones to visit the new country, all while recruiting other talented players and coaches to join them.

One of those recruited was Royal Ivey, who is now an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has more:

Three summers ago, Deng tapped former NBA player and longtime friend Royal Ivey to be the team’s head coach. Ivey, an assistant with the Rockets, started practices on concrete floors and outdoor courts that were sometimes flooded.

As a result of a 101-78 victory over Angola at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, South Sudan’s Bright Stars have secured Africa’s lone 2024 Olympics bid. It’s the nation’s first Olympic berth in any sport.

According to Windhorst, the success comes “with a team filled with refugees and the children of refugees from the war-torn nation.”

Ivey, who mentored Deng over two decades ago when he arrived at the same high school in New Jersey, said after his team clinched:

It’s been a humbling journey. I had heartaches, I have a lot of ebbs and flows, and it’s a great feeling right now. A year ago we were practicing outside with eagles flying around while we were practicing and the courts were flooded. Like to go from there to come and play in front of these fans in the Philippines (Manila), and I’m on cloud nine right now.

Read on for an assortment highlights, interviews and postgame reaction from Manila, including remarks from Ivey. South Sudan finished its 2023 FIBA World Cup run with a 3-2 record.

PHOTOS: Best images from Australia’s 88-67 exhibition win over South Sudan

The best photos from Australia’s 88-67 exhibition win over South Sudan in preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Australia continues to build momentum as they continue to prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup by playing a handful of exhibiting games prior to the start of the tournament.

In their most recent exhibition, Australia came away with a 88-67 win over South Sudan. This was a nice answer to their surprise defeat against Brazil in their previous exhibition matchup.

In 20 minutes, Josh Giddey had six points on 1-of-6 shooting, nine assists and four rebounds. Off the bench, Jack White had eight points, three rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes.

Let’s look at some of the best photos from Australia’s 21-point friendly win.

2023 FIBA World Cup: Australia finds rhythm in 88-67 exhibition win vs. South Sudan

Recapping Australia’s 88-67 exhibition win over South Sudan.

After suffering an upset loss to Brazil, Australia sharpened its blade in its  third exhibition game by dominating South Sudan in an 88-67 win. The Boomers enjoyed the one-sided win as they led by as many as 29 points.

It was a more mellow game for Josh Giddey. He finished with six points on 1-of-6 shooting, nine assists and four rebounds in 20 minutes. He also went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Australia didn’t need him on his “A” game against South Sudan to blow them out.

For Jack White, this was his best offensive outing yet with the Boomers and the defense continues to be a positive for him as an athletic big. In 18 minutes off the bench, he had eight points on 2-of-4 shooting and went 4-of-6 from the free-throw line to go along with three rebounds and three steals.

The full Australian box score can be viewed below:

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This was a nice palate cleanser for Australia after their lethargic showing in their previous game. The Boomers will need more performances like these when the games start to matter on Aug. 25 in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Let’s look at highlights and instant reactions from Australia’s 21-point exhibition win over South Sudan.

Helios is the largest investor in the …

Helios is the largest investor in the project outside the NBA itself, and has been joined by some notable names including former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, and Forest Whitaker, who won an Oscar for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 movie ‘The Last King of Scotland’. A host of former players have also signed up, including Grant Hill and Dikembe Mutombo, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Luol Deng, born in what is now South Sudan, is also a stakeholder.