Ater Majok : Future NBA Prospect

Junior basketball in Australia has been fuelled to an extent in recent times by an influx of African refugees to Western Sydney. As reported in today's Daily Telegraph, Blacktown coach Edward Smith has been instrumental in training these youngsters as basketball players, with many of them coming from a zero-base in terms of roundball experience.

"To date, he has been able to field 17 Australians in US colleges with a further 11 players this year attending US high schools, where they could hone their game and life skills."

By far the most exciting and successful of these new Australian youngsters is Ater Majok. Now 20 years old and standing 6'10", Smith first introduced Majok to the basics of basketball four years ago. Now he is in a situation where he has been heavily recruited in the USA, having a choice of colleges and choosing ultra-successful UConn as the next step in his journey.

Majok has the athleticism, touch and work ethic to be a star. He has been pinned as a top 10 power forward prospect and there is no doubt that the NBA is firmly in his sights. Watch the footage of Majok in 2006 (below), when he was just 18, and you can see the potential for a solid NBA career. His spring around the basket is strong, his work ethic appears solid and for a player with such little basketball experience, he has a nice touch on his hook.

The Telegraph article questions how many of these refugees will return to Australia with the skills which they have acquired under the tutelage of Smith, after breaking into the US College and High School scenes. Great Britain is currently benefiting from another Sudanese refugee, Luol Deng, in their National program. In the case of Majok, it sounds very likely that he will have the talent to don Australian Boomer colours one day. More than this, it sounds like he has the will to be a Boomer and wants to return to Australia with the spoils of his US experience.

In this March 2008 Telegraph aricle where he was deliberating over which College to attend, Majok reveals his three main goals in basketball: "win the NCAA division one title with whatever school he commits to, make it into the NBA as a first-round draft pick and play for Australia at the 2012 Olympic Games."

This is great news for Australian basketball, as Majok's future sounds bright. And with a name like that, no doubt there will be many in the media knowing his name in the near future and possibly affixing the nickname "Magic" to it.

Ater Majok in 2006, upon his arrival in the United States:



A recent highlight reel of Majok moves in high school:

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