On a Basketball Kueth
December 13, 2004 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Maywood Laguneros News Release
By: Mario Aguirre and Kandace Hsu
On the surface, Kueth Duany appears to be like most of his American Basketball Association (ABA) Long Beach Jam teammates, but Duany's story begins in the African nation of Sudan.
Duany was five years old when his family fled The Sudan due to civil unrest and religious persecution.
"I remember my grandmother and our house," Duany said. "And other childhood memories, but for the most part, I remember war."
While serving as the minister of finance for Sudan before the government switched to Islamic law, Duany's father, Wal, was jailed for five months because he refused to convert to Islam. Upon being released, Wal moved to the United States and enrolled at Indiana University to earn his doctorate. Duany's mother, Julia, followed separately and brought Kueth and his siblings to start a new life in Bloomington, Ind.
Once in America, the Duany family took gravitated toward basketball. Kueth's older brother, Duany Duany, played in the Final Four for Wisconsin in 2000. His younger sisters Nok played for Georgetown and Nyagon played for Bradley University. His younger brother, Bil, was named to the Indiana All-Star boy's basketball team while attending Bloomington High School and currently plays for Eastern Illinois.
Competition between the siblings has helped each excel in the sport.
"I started to play basketball because of my older brother," Duany said. "I was always trying to emulate him and ended-up being pretty good at it."
While attending Bloomington High School, Duany led the Cougars to a state championship in 1997. During his three years on the team, Duany led the Cougars to a combined 66-10 record. He also earned All-Conference honors along with All-State, All-Area and All-Regional honors.
A captain during his senior year at Syracuse University during the 2002-03 season, Duany scored 11 points for the Orangemen in their 81-78 victory over Kansas in the NCAA Championship Game. That season, Duany averaged 11.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
"That was the most enjoyable season of my basketball career," Duany said. "We bonded as a team and had one goal in mind from day one; and that was to win a championship."
Duany was awarded the Big East Conference's Sportsman of the Year. After Duany graduated from Syracuse in 2003 with a double major in political science and information management and technology, he played overseas for Vervier-Pepinster in Belgium.
"I had a good coach in Europe, Niksa Bavcevic," the 24-year-old said. "He gave me the confidence to believe in myself out there on the court."
Duany returned to the United States to pursue his goal of playing in the NBA.
"My goal right now is to win an ABA championship and get into the NBA," Duany said.
Two months removed from averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game as a member of the Utah Jazz in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, Duany joined the Jam.
"The weather in Long Beach is wonderful," Duany said. "I have visited the beaches and I am definitely going back. I love it here and it makes me not want to go back to the East Coast."
Duany, who resides in New Jersey during the off-season, is averaging 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
"Kueth is an excellent player," Head Coach Nate "Tiny" Archibald said. "He is great on defense and has good work habits. He gets along with everyone and is very knowledgeable about the game."
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
• Discuss this story on the American Basketball Association message board...
American Basketball Association Stories from December 13, 2004
- On a Basketball Kueth - Maywood Laguneros
- Nighthawks Extend Winning Streak to Four - Maryland NightHawks
- Crush Squeeze by the Warriors - Maywood Buzz
- Los Angeles Stars slay the Tijuana Dragons 123-98 - Los Angeles Aftershock
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
