D-E-N-G. Deng, Deng, Deng. The chants by students came after each block, five in all, by Deng Gai in the Stags last game against Siena.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore forward takes great pride in his defensive abilities, which helped earn him the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year last season.
“My defense is my greatest ability,” Deng Gai said. ” Rebounding and blocking shots is what I do. The offense is more of a team thing.”
Teamed with his older cousin, Ajou Deng, who transferred to Fairfield from Connecticut two years ago, the duo provide the Stags with tremendous size and options, according to head coach Tim O’Toole.
“We’re big and we’re long. There are no disadvantages of having the two of them on the floor at the same time,” O’Toole said. “It creates this outside-inside combination that we really haven’t been able to explore that much this season because Ajou is still coming along.”
Ajou Deng underwent foot surgery during the summer that sidelined him for more than a month to start the season. The 6-foot-11 fifth-year senior has slowly begun to show the form of old, but his limited mobility has kept him from regaining the highly-touted player that was recruited by Connecticut.
It’s been frustrating for Ajou Deng not to be able to perform at 100 percent so far this year.
“Its frustrating when you get out there and you can’t do the things you used to do. It’s hard for me to be aggressive sometimes. But it’s getting better,” Ajou Deng said. “Things happen for a reason. I just want to help the team as much as I can.”
Deng Gai has also had to overcome adversity this year after being suspended for the fall semester for violating university policy.
“It was hard, but there was nothing I could do about it … it was the school’s decision,” Deng Gai said. “It was good for me though. I was able to concentrate on being a regular student. I supported my teammates. My teammates were always there and supported me.”
Deng Gai set the school record with 117 blocked shots last year and has already denied 47 opponents’ attempts this year in just 11 games. In perspective, the closest player in the league has 29 blocks in 19 games this year.
After leading the Stags in rebounding last year, Ajou Deng’s reduced agility has resulted in Deng averaging only 2.5 rebounds and just under five points per game this season.
Ajou Deng and Deng Gai come from a rich background of basketball, including Ajou’s younger brother Luol, who has committed to play at Duke next year.
“He’s right behind LeBron James coming out of high school,” Ajou Deng said. “It’s a great opportunity for him … he’s going to play right away.”
Ajou Deng credits former NBA star Manute Bol for his support since they were little kids.
“He’s like our uncle. He’s been supporting us since we starting playing basketball when we were young kids,” Ajou Deng said. “He’s like a hero to a lot of Sudanese people because he did a lot to help Sudan. He’s always there for us. He’s like a father to us.”
Bol can always be found sitting behind the Fairfield bench at the games and will likely be in attendance Thursday when the Stags face Canisius at the Arena at Harbor Yard.
Deng Gai put an emphasis on rebounding against Canisius, something that hurt Fairfield in the team’s loss to Siena.
“They’re going to come here with the attitude that they want to win … like how Siena came up and beat us,” Deng Gai said. “We have to play together as a team. We have to make sure we rebound. We have to be aggressive. We can’t turn the ball over.”
Canisius is one of the league’s best defensive teams, tied with the Stags for first for field-goal percentage against.
They are a really good defensive team. … They are very stingy defensively,” O’Toole said. “They may have the best backcourt in the league with Dux and Mallory. Those guys can flat out shoot. They [Canisius] have a system of a lot of guys that can hurt you in different ways.”
Ajou Deng cites Fairfield’s more experienced team this year as the primary factor behind the Stags success so far.
“We’ve improved a lot. I think we have a lot of experience,” Ajou Deng said. “Everyone’s staying together. We all want one thing … to win it [MAAC Championship] and go to the NCAA Tournament.”
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