Third time lucky for determined DP

The word resilience gets used a lot in sport but when it comes to Magok Manyang’s story it seems to define his journey.

Born in a Kenyan refugee camp and arriving in Australia as a young child, Manyang twice tried out for a Development Player position with the Adelaide 36ers before securing a spot at the third attempt.

In between the now 23-year-old navigated the testing environment of the college basketball scene in the United States, usually with a smile on his face and an internal sense of determination.

“Honestly, the first time at the DP camp was just to test how I’d go against other high-level players,” Manyang told Adelaide36ers.com.

“I knew I would be able to later hopefully get something like this or even a roster spot and then the second time, I did it to test out again but also knew I was going back to college cause I really wanted to get that degree, and the coaches knew but they also still wanted to see where I was at basketball-wise and maturity-wise.

“But the third time I tried out and was pretty hopeful that I’d get it and when I did it was really exciting for me and for my family, especially to be able to get signed with my brother which is something that’s not happened before.”

Manyang’s signing came just weeks after his younger brother Deng Manyang, 17, was also recruited as a Development Player.

The duo are among eight Manyang siblings with Magok the eldest.

And while this week they will team up for the Central District Lions in the NBL1 Central decider against new 36ers teammate Keanu Rasmussen’s West Adelaide Bearcats, Manyang admits he and his brother have a healthy competition between them.

“I hold him to a higher standard than anybody on the court because we are brothers and I want him to succeed more than anybody, even myself,” Manyang explains.

“Before every game (for Central District) we talk about our goals - so we might say this game we want a maximum of five rebounds or 10 rebounds, whatever a good base level for points, rebounds and assists is and then in the game he holds me accountable to the same thing.

“If he beats me on a stat then he has he has the bragging rights until the next game. We've been doing that since the season started and it kind of holds us both accountable that, you know, you don't wanna be behind your older brother but also I don't want my younger brother beating me.

“It’s definitely competitive.”

So far it seems to have worked with the Manyang brothers playing key roles as the Lions qualified for Saturday night’s Grand Final.

Magok Manyang averaged 12.58 points and eight rebounds per game in his 12 matches.

And while basketball seems so natural to the 206cm forward who can count athleticism, three-point shooting and rebounding among his best attributes, it was not always his sport of choice.

“It was never the idea was to play basketball when I was younger even though a lot of people start young,” he says.

“I started later, like around 13 or 14, for a social team at my old school, and I was alright I guess.

“Basketball was never really something that I wanted to do, it’s just something that seemed to happen because I grew too fast and people thought ‘oh he must be a basketball player because of his height’, because I was always taller than everybody in my year or everyone I hung out with, so I just kept going with it.”

While he has genetics to thank for his height, Manyang is also grateful to his family for giving him the opportunity to make the most of his talent – his Mum and Dad in particular for getting him to trainings.

He may not have grown up wanting to play basketball but it is now not only work, but an outlet for him.

“Anytime I have a chance to go to a basketball court to muck around for a few minutes I do,” he says.

“I just want to mess around with a basketball and just get some shots up.

“It's calming when I do it. If I'm stressed and go do that, I always feel better later.”