Mathiang Muo

Mathiang Muo (born 3 April 1987) is an Australian-Sudanese professional basketball player for the Brisbane Spartans of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). The 6'5" swingman graduated from Charleston Southern University in 2013 before joining the Perth Wildcats of the NBL. Due to injury, he managed just 15 games for the Wildcats over two seasons. Muo has also had stints in the State Basketball League (SBL) for the East Perth Eagles and Goldfields Giants.

Early life

Muo was born in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, a city in the heart of the Sudanese civil war in the 1990s.^[1] To help himself and his family survive, Muo worked as a domestic cleaner, earning three dollars a day at the age of just 10 years, leaving home for two-month stints before returning to spend a week with his family. In 1998, at the age of 11, Muo, along with six siblings and his mother, Elizabeth, escaped to Egypt as refugees. The family enrolled in a refugee lottery while in Egypt and waited two years to find a new destination.^[2] Eventually, Muo's family were given the chance to come to Australia on humanitarian visas, moving to Sydney, where he and his family were able to settle down.^[3] Upon arrival in Sydney, Muo began formal education at the age of 13. He spent the first two years in extensive English training and enrolled in high school.^[2]

While living in Sydney as a teenager, Muo starting playing basketball for the first time in a local park. As he began to love the sport and realising his natural talent, Muo decided to take the game seriously, partly as a way to keep himself out of trouble.^[3] Muo's talents were recognised by a local basketball training centre called Next Level Basketball. Muo was introduced to coach Edward Smith and his game began to take off. A few years later, Next Level began taking one trip a year to showcase tournaments in the United States as a way to promote and expose the better players to college programs. It was a trip to Las Vegas when Muo was 18 that changed his life forever after his performances drew plenty of attention. In 2005, Muo attempted to finish high school in Florida at Florida Prep but the school went bankrupt before he could graduate.^[2] He subsequently moved to The Winchendon School in Boston but left when he realised the coach, who had links to the University of Massachusetts, was telling other colleges not to recruit him. He then moved to The Patterson School in Lenoir, North Carolina where he finally graduated high school.^[3]

College career

Though he received a diploma, Muo did not qualify through the NCAA Clearinghouse and instead attended Quinnipiac University as an international student for one year. He improved his grades enough to qualify and accepted a basketball scholarship worth $60,000 with Northeastern University in 2009,^[2] and joined the university's Division 1 college basketball team.^[3] As a freshman playing for the Huskies in 2009–10, Muo played 29 games (one start) while averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game.^[4][5]

In 2010, Northeastern University decided Muo did not meet its academic standards and rescinded his scholarship.^[2] He subsequently moved to the College of Central Florida where he played 29 games as a sophomore in 2010–11.^[3] In those 29 games, he averaged 13.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.^[6]

In 2011, Muo once again moved colleges, this time landing at Charleston Southern University and joined the Buccaneers men's basketball team. Playing for CSU, Muo's talent began to shine.^[3] As a junior in 2011–12, he played 31 games and started all of them, recording averages of 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 27.0 minutes per game.^[5] As a senior in 2012–13, he became one of the best shooters in school history and the second-best shooter in the league, as he shot 41.2% from the three-point line.^[3] In 28 games (26 starts), he averaged 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per game.^[5]

College statistics

Professional career

Perth Wildcats (2013–2015)

First season

On 7 June 2013, Muo signed a three-year deal with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League.^[7] However, on 13 August 2013, he suffered a tear to his left Achilles tendon on just the second day of training camp and was subsequently ruled out for the entire 2013–14 season.^[8] While the injury was a major setback, Muo was not fazed and was determined to stay positive and active with the team throughout the season, attending every training session and was amongst the playing group every home game. Despite not playing for the Wildcats in 2013–14, Muo became an NBL champion on 13 April 2014 when the Wildcats defeated the Adelaide 36ers in Game 3 of the 2014 Grand Final series, winning the series two games to one.^[9]

East Perth Eagles

On 16 May 2014, Muo joined the East Perth Eagles of the State Basketball League for the rest of the 2014 season. The next day, he made his return to basketball, taking a huge step in his recovery from injury under the guidance of Wildcats' assistant coach and Eagles' head coach Adam Forde.^[10] In 18 minutes of action against the South West Slammers, Muo finished with eight points and four rebounds despite shooting just 3-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-9 from downtown.^[11] He went on to play in 17 games for East Perth, averaging 13.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.^[12] Despite East Perth finishing seventh on the ladder, with the help of Muo, they made it through to the Grand Final where they faced the Geraldton Buccaneers, the top team in 2014. Muo went on to record 12 points and 2 rebounds in the 99–83 championship win, capping off a whirlwind 14 months for Muo since signing with the Wildcats.^[13]

Release and return

Less than a week after winning the SBL championship, Muo represented the Wildcats for the first time, pulling on a Wildcats singlet in the club's pre-season game against the SBL All-Stars on 5 September 2014. In the 98–59 win, Muo recorded 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block.^[14][15] Four days after his promising first outing for the club, the Wildcats released Muo after deciding to not register a contract for him for 2014–15.^[16] Despite being released by the Wildcats, Muo stuck around with the club and continued to train with the playing group, further showing his determination and dedication. Later that month, he travelled with the team to Brisbane for the 2014 NBL Pre-season Blitz and on 18 September 2014, he replaced Earnest Ross in the line-up for the Wildcats' pre-season exhibition match against the Sydney Kings.^[17]

Starting the 2014–15 NBL season as a training player with the Wildcats, Muo was given a life-line by the club on 14 October 2014, signing as a short-term injury replacement for back-up forward Greg Hire, who was ruled out for six weeks with a calf injury just three days after the club's season opening loss to the New Zealand Breakers.^[18] Muo expressed his overwhelming joy when asked about receiving this opportunity, "It feels great, I've been waiting for this for a year and a half, and to get the opportunity to play is an amazing feeling. I'm looking forward to this Friday, I just want to go out there and have fun."^[19] He went on to make his long-awaited NBL debut on 17 October 2014 in the Wildcats' 69–59 win over the Wollongong Hawks, recording one turnover in just under two minutes of action.^[20] The following week, he recorded his first career points in the Wildcats' 84–63 win over the Sydney Kings. He finished the game with 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting.^[21] On 9 November 2014, Muo was a spark off the bench for the Wildcats in their Round 5 match-up against Melbourne United. Coming on late in the second quarter, he scored 11 points to finish the half and gave the Wildcats a much needed boost, going into half time with a 41–28 lead. The Wildcats went on to hold the lead in the second half as they won the game 68–59.^[22][23]

Following Hire's return from injury on 15 January 2015, Muo's short-term contract was deactivated by the Wildcats and he returned to a training player role.^[24] In 15 games for the Wildcats, Muo averaged 1.9 points per game.^[25]

Goldfields Giants (2015)

On 24 March 2015, Muo signed with the Goldfields Giants for the rest of the 2015 State Basketball League season.^[26][27] Four days later, he made his debut for the Giants, recording 31 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in a 111–101 loss to the Joondalup Wolves.^[28][29] On 16 May, he scored a season-high 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting in a 120–92 win over the Mandurah Magic.^[30] Despite starting the season losing their first eight games, the Giants surged mid-season to win 14 of their final 18 games, finishing the season as the seventh seed with a 14–12 win/loss record. The Giants' big three of Muo, Jay Bowie and Jacob Holmen helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in three years.^[31] The Giants went on to sweep the No. 2 seeded Geraldton Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs, moving on to face the South West Slammers in the semi-finals.^[32] While staying competitive in the best-of-three series, their luck ran out as they were defeated 2–0 by the Slammers to bow out of the playoffs. In 26 games for the Giants in 2015, he averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.^[33]

Brisbane Spartans (2016–present)

On 25 February 2016, Muo signed with the Brisbane Spartans for the 2016 SEABL season.^[34] He made his debut for the Spartans in the team's season opener on 1 April, recording game highs of 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 73–55 loss to the Geelong Supercats.^[35] On 30 April, he scored a season-high 33 points in a 114–71 win over the Sandringham Sabres.^[36] He subsequently earned Player of the Week honours for Round 5.^[37] On 30 July, he had his second-best scoring performance of the season, as he recorded 31 points and 7 rebounds in a 93–81 win over the Albury Wodonga Bandits.^[38] He subsequently earned Player of the Week honours for Round 17.^[39] The Spartans finished the regular season with a 15–9 record, good for second in the East Conference. Muo helped the Spartans earn a playoff berth for the first time in five years.^[40] The Spartans lost their semi-final contest against the first-seeded Bendigo Braves, and then lost their preliminary final match-up with the Nunawading Spectres to bow out of the playoffs with back-to-back losses. In 25 games for the Spartans in 2016, he averaged 18.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.^[41]

On 29 August 2016, Muo suited up for the Brisbane Bullets in their pre-season clash against the UCLA Bruins.^[42] The following month, he travelled with the Bullets to New Zealand for pre-season clashes against the New Zealand Breakers.^[43] He also competed with the Bullets during the Australian Basketball Challenge, the NBL's official pre-season tournament.^[44][45]

National team career

In July 2016, Muo was selected to represent South Sudan in the first World Indigenous Basketball Challenge.^[46] The 16-team tournament was held in Vancouver, Canada from August 10–13. Muo helped South Sudan reach the championship game, where they defeated Lords of the Plains 98–91 to complete a 4–0 run. As a result, Muo was named tournament MVP.^[47][48]

References

External links

• Northeastern bio
• CSU stats
• SEABL stats
• Perth Wildcats – Introducing Mathiang Muo on YouTube
• Report on Mathiang Muo on YouTube
• Mathiang Muo on Twitter