So many close games we lost this year and we look back and say, “Why?” We need to stop that. We just need to stay with it, be positive and play hard. We have to leave no regrets.
I used to let the last play really hang onto me and it would affect my next play. Now, if it happens, it happens. But you have to move on.
I think a lot of people might say, “Luol is mature on the court,” or they might say, “He’s an average 20-year-old who just happens to be talented.” I don’t know the answer to that.
I was born in the Sudan. I left around the age of 4 or 5. I left because of the civil war. That’s stuff I don’t really like talking about. It’s terrible. You can imagine what a civil war is like. I was very young at the time, but it’s stuff I just try to put behind me.
My mom had nine kids. The way we were raised was always respect your elders. No matter what, always respect your elders.
My dad was a prime minister of education and transportation in Sudan, so it was a big deal until the civil war. He just thought it was a better idea to leave the Sudan, so we did that.
I was always homesick. I moved around so much. I left Sudan to go to Egypt. Egypt to London. Then from London to New Jersey. From Jersey to Carolina, then from Carolina to here. From London, we moved houses twice, so I had to go to different schools. For me, growing up was always moving, always having new friends.
The hardest part was the language. You go from the Sudan to Egypt, then you have to learn Arabic. Then I go from there to London, you have to learn English. Then you go to high school in Jersey and you have to learn the new style at that school. I speak three languages: my tribal language, Dinka, Arabic and English.
I’m into psychology. There’s a lot of things they teach you in college that you don’t use, but I feel psychology, being a professional athlete, trust me, there’s a lot of things that go through your mind and you wonder why.
We first got to know how big basketball was when my brother was at UConn. He played for UConn and they won the national championship. (1)
When I was 14, I told them I wanted to go to high school in the U.S. At first, my mom didn’t like the idea. I was too young. But they saw that that’s what I wanted to do. I was playing basketball almost 24/7. I always had a basketball in my hand. There was basketball on TV all the time. They knew how much I loved it. I put the NBA on every time it was on when I was living in England. I would get all the tapes. My parents really didn’t know what the NBA was, but they would see it on the TV, see the crowd. It was a big deal, and I told them that was my dream: to one day play in the NBA.
When I was in high school, I had the chance to put my name in the draft. My parents didn’t think that’s a good idea. I didn’t necessarily think it’s a good idea. But I thought about it. I ended up going to Duke.
I believed Coach K more than any other coaches. When I sat down with him, he looked me in the eyes and told me, “You’re going to come in and play for us right away and we have a chance to win it all with you being on the team.” I just felt like that made sense. We went to the Final Four, had a great year, I started, and we lost by one to the national champs.
Coach K was more laid back on game situations where coach Skiles is up on you on game situations. Both coaches, if you’re not playing well, you’re going to sit on the bench.
A lot of people say age doesn’t matter; it’s how much you know. I could say that’s really true because I feel a lot older than a 20-year-old.
What started the whole thing is a horrible thing, but it gave me an advantage in life– being a lot more mature for my age.
(1) – In 1999 over Duke.
