Nyang Wek
{{Short description|South Sudanese basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Nyang Wek
| image =
| number = 24
| position = Small forward
| league = Basketball Africa League
| team = Bangui Sporting Club
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1996|3|6}}
| birth_place = South Sudan
| nationality = South Sudanese
| height_m = 1.98
| height_in =
| weight_lb =
| high_school = French Camp Academy
(French Camp, Mississippi)
| college = Lane College
| draft_year = 2018
| draft_round =
| draft_pick =
| draft_team =
| draft_league =
| career_start = 2018
| years1 = 2018
| team1 = Dallas Ballers
| years2 = 2022
| team2 = Cobra Sport
| highlights =
| bbr =
| bbr_wnba =
| nbanew =
| wnba_profile =
| years3 = 2023
| team3 = JBC
| years4 = 2024–present
| team4 = Bangui Sporting Club
}}
Nyang Luol "Tako" Wek III (born 9 March 1996) is a South Sudanese basketball player who last played for Bangui SC of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).{{cite web |title=Nyang WEK |url=https://ssbfed.com/player/nyang-wek/ |website=South Sudan Basketball Federation |access-date=29 August 2021}} Wek has been a member of the South Sudan national team, and played at FIBA AfroBasket 2021 with his country.
Early life and high school career
Wek was born in South Sudan but moved to the United States at age 9. He attended French Camp Academy in Mississippi, where he began playing basketball as a freshman. As a junior, Wek averaged 19 points per game and had consecutive 40-point games. He was expelled during his senior season. Wek moved to Memphis, Tennessee and earned a football scholarship to Lane College. He dropped out of Lane after a season, due to feeling that football was not right for him. Wek moved to Dallas, Texas and found work delivering plumbing supplies.{{cite news |last1=Han |first1=Nathan |title=One more shot: New league gets players who had lost their way back in the game |url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-dallas-morning-news/20180725/282063392761839 |access-date=September 4, 2021 |work=The Dallas Morning News |date=July 25, 2018}}
Professional career
Wek played with the Dallas Ballers in the first season of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA). His girlfriend spotted the ad for the tryout and sent it to him.{{cite web |last1=Washington |first1=Jesse |title=LaVar Ball's pro league is a last chance for hoop dreams |url=https://andscape.com/features/lavar-ball-pro-league-the-big-baller-junior-basketball-association-is-a-last-chance-for-hoop-dreams/ |website=Andscape |access-date=29 August 2021 |date=6 July 2018}} He was suspended for three games due to a conflict with another player.
On March 2, 2022, Wek signed with South Sudanese club Cobra Sport of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).{{cite news |title=Cobra Sport reinforce roster with Wek, Wang |url=http://thebalreport.com/uncategorized/cobra-sport-wek-wang/ |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=The BAL Report |date=2 March 2022}}
In November 2023, Wek played for Zimbabwean club JBC in the Road to BAL. In two games, he averaged 11 points and 10.5 rebounds for JBC, who failed to advance to the final round.{{Cite web |title=Nyang WEK at the Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L. 2024 2023 |url=https://www.fiba.basketball/africaleague/2024/qualifiers/player/Nyang-Wek |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=FIBA.basketball |language=en}}
In April 2024, Wek joined Bangui Sporting Club for the 2024 BAL season.{{Cite web |title=Al Ahly Ly vs. Bangui SC |url=https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/BAL/2410678/bs.html |url-status= |website=BAL GeniusSports}}
National team career
Wek was on the South Sudan national basketball team for AfroBasket 2021.{{cite web |title=South Sudan at the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 |url=http://www.fiba.basketball/afrobasket/2021/team/South-Sudan# |website=FIBA.basketball |access-date=29 August 2021 |language=en}} As a starter, he contributed 5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, helping South Sudan reach the quarterfinals.{{cite web |title=Nyang Wek Player Profile, Events Stats, Game Logs, Awards - RealGM |url=https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Nyang-Wek/Summary/159497 |website=basketball.realgm.com |access-date=3 September 2021}}
BAL career statistics
{{BAL player statistics legend}}
{{BAL player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|2022
|style="text-align:left;"|Cobra Sport
| 5 || 3 || 25.8 || .419 || .320 || .286 || 5.8 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .4 || 9.6
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 5 || 3 || 25.8 || .419 || .320 || .286 || 5.8 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .4 || 9.6
{{s-end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Nyang-Wek/Eurobasket-SLeague/Team-Barcelona/476391 Nyang Wek] at Eurobasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wek, Nyang}}
Category:Junior Basketball Association players
Category:South Sudanese men's basketball players
Category:Bangui Sporting Club players
{{SouthSudan-basketball-bio-stub}}