 Deng will be the main attraction at The O2 when the Bulls meet the Jazz |
British basketball is on the rise and has a genuine chance of medal success at London 2012, says Luol Deng. The 23-year-old returns to London, the city he still calls home, when his team the Chicago Bulls take on NBA rivals the Utah Jazz at The O2 on 6 October. But a month before that he has a more pressing engagement with Team GB at the EuroBasket finals in Poland. "We still need time but Britain is on the up and a lot of people are starting to realise it," said Deng. "I think we've got a very good team. We had a good team last year and now we've got more guys coming through, more guys wanting to play. "But to be as respected as some of these other European powerhouses we've got to win a few more games and be involved in more tournaments." Reaching the top tier of European basketball was a notable achievement for a team that was only formed in 2005 when the English, Scottish and Welsh set-ups were united with 2012 in mind. No British team had reached the biennial event since England managed it in 1981. But with Fiba, international basketball's governing body, making qualification for EuroBasket a condition of Team GB's participation in the Olympic tournament, it was a now-or-never moment.  | The season has been up and down for me but I'm confident once I'm fit and healthy I'll be back to my best Chicago and GB star Luol Deng |
Thankfully, Deng and co seized the chance and their exploits unlocked a major increase in funding for the sport. When UK Sport, the agency that allocates public money to elite sport, announced its 2012 budget, basketball was given a 137% bump. Greater financial support tends to come with greater expectations but Deng, who came to London aged six when his family were forced to flee a civil war in their native Sudan, believes anything is possible for the fast-improving British team. Compared to their female counterparts, who crashed out of Europe's elite in January plunging their 2012 hopes into doubt, the men's team seem to have more ammunition at their disposal, particularly if Deng can persuade his London-born Chicago team-mate Ben Gordon to join him. Despite declaring his intention to represent the land of his birth, Gordon, who played for the US in 2003, has not turned out for the team yet and Deng said he does not know what the 25-year-old sharpshooter is planning to do. The British captain, however, was bullish on Britain's progress and denied it was all down to him. "People should realise there is more to British basketball than just me," the 6ft 9in forward said. "Pops Mensah-Bonsu is playing well for (the NBA's) Toronto (Raptors) and there others coming up. "OK, we got more funding partly because of me but it was also because of the performances we put in, winning our group and showing the improvement we did. We'll do even better this year.  Hoops took Deng to the US at 14, he would later star for Duke University |
"So that recognition is there because we've been winning. If I was there and we weren't winning it would not have happened." Not being there is Deng's current problem as he has missed Chicago's last 12 games (and a total of 23 games in an injury-plagued campaign) because of a stress fracture in his right shin. The Bulls have won seven of those games to improve their play-off chances but it is still touch-and-go with 10 regular-season fixtures to play. It is has been a difficult for Deng watching from the sidelines, particularly as all eyes were on him coming into the season. His superb performances since joining the team in 2004 - leading the Bulls in minutes played the last two seasons - were rewarded last summer with a six-year deal worth a guaranteed $71m (£48.4m). But his form has dipped this year and he admits to concerns about the state of his nagging shin injury. "It's a small stress fracture and I'm doing as much rehab as I can to get back and help (the Bulls)," he said. "But I'm a little bit worried that the injury heals right because if it needs surgery, which we don't think it will, I won't be able to play for a while. "Overall, the season has been up and down for me but I'm confident that once I'm fit and healthy I'll be back to my best." | 606: DEBATE |
The injury, however, does place into doubt Deng's chances of playing in the warm-up tournament the British team has arranged at The O2 in August. The four-team event pits Team GB against Israel, Slovenia and Turkey, all of whom have qualified for EuroBasket, with Slovenia being in Britain's group. Deng has stated his desire to play but that decision may now be out of his hands, with the Bulls holding the casting vote. With so much responsibility resting on him - for both club and country - that tournament is clearly of lesser importance than Team GB's EuroBasket encounter with Slovenia on 7 September and the Bulls' next campaign. And with Chicago now confirmed to play in October's NBA Europe Live tour, there is another opportunity for Deng to play in front of family and friends in London. "I'm excited the NBA is coming to England to show everybody what we're about, and I'm excited for the fans," he said. "It's hard to see top basketball action in England, even on the TV. So it's great those fans will get a chance to see some action up close." It will be the third year in a row the NBA has staged a pre-season game at The O2, with the previous two visits proving to be box-office hits.  Deng has made an immense impact on GB basketball since his debut in 2007 |
Deng sees this as a reflection of the burgeoning basketball scene in this country - club memberships have doubled in the last four years - as well as the NBA's recognition of British potential. "The NBA is definitely doing that but I think we need to put on more events during the summer so more kids get involved," he said. "And we should find a way to have more basketball on TV, not necessarily live games but highlight shows that talk about the NBA so we get more people tuned in to the game." Deng, an Arsenal fan who attracted the interest of football scouts as a youngster in south London, cannot see basketball elbowing football aside in Britain - just as he cannot see football doing the opposite in the US - but he can see growth for both sports in their respective markets. He also knows British basketball will never have a better chance to stake a claim for a bigger slice of the nation's attention than in 2012 and he understands the value of an Olympic medal. "Everybody daydreams about winning a medal but everybody daydreams - you've got to put in the work," he said. "I really believe we're going towards that but we've got a lot of improving to do. I'd rather go into it with the mindset of we'll try to show what we can really do. "But we're getting to a place where we think we can beat anybody we play."
| 
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?