All year, the question came up at Fairfield and throughout the MAAC: Will Deng Gai get drafted? On June 24 in New York City, the answer came: No.
But in a turn of events that coach Tim O’Toole said is extremely favorable, the Stags’ all-time leading shot-blocker is under contract with an NBA team, and could be the first Stag in more than a decade to play in the league.
Gai signed a contract Aug. 5 with the Philadelphia 76ers and will compete for a roster spot when training camp begins next month.
“He has a real chance to make the club, which would be unbelievable,” O’Toole said. “I was talking to someone in the 76ers organization who said there was a lot of interest, and that they jumped to sign him [when he went un-drafted].”
Gai signed a one year deal for the rookie minimum of just under $400,000. The contract is partially guaranteed, meaning Gai will be able to cash an NBA check even if he is left off the 76ers roster.
Gai participated in a mini-camp for rookies and free-agents last month in Philadelphia, and played with the 76ers in the NBA summer league in Las Vegas. O’Toole, knocking on wood and smiling, said reports from the club are that Gai has played very well so far.
Under the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, which will go into effect this season, teams can keep the rights to up to 15 players, while only 12 at a time may be on the active roster. This means that if Gai does not make the 12-man roster, his rights will almost certainly be retained by the club, leaving the door open for him to be added to the roster in case of an injury.
The only Fairfield player in history to play in the NBA was A.J. Wynder, who played very briefly for the Boston Celtics in 1991.
Wynder, a gritty perimeter player who played alongside O’Toole at Fairfield in the mid 1980’s, was signed to a ten day contract and then released. O’Toole, while praising Wynder, said Gai has an incredibly high ceiling.
After emigrating from Sudan, Gai came to Fairfield and became a household name throughout the MAA C.
Despite missing nearly half of his junior season with an ankle injury, Gai left Fairfield tied for sixth on the all-time NCAA shot blocking leader board. Last year, he led the nation in blocked shots, with an average of 5.5 per game, en route to his third MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award.
“You’re much more willing to take a chance on somebody who does something you can’t teach” Rider coach Don Harnum told The Mirror last spring.
“His best basketball is still about three years ahead of him,” O’Toole said.
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