Deng Expands His Game Overseas

What price freedom?

That's a question Bulls forward Luol Deng hopes he can answer now that he is a citizen of Great Britain. His family put down roots there after escaping the civil-war strife of his native Sudan, where Deng's father, the Minister of Transport, was jailed for three months.

Deng, who gained British citizenship last year, was granted political asylum there in 1993, when he was 8. Before that, Deng, his eight siblings and two aunts lived in Egypt while his parents were in London trying to gain asylum.

In return, Deng is trying to lead the British national team into the upper echelon of international basketball and to a berth in the 2012 Olympics in London.

''It's hard sometimes to repay a country back,'' Deng said. ''But the position we were put in, to just play basketball and try to develop the game there, that's something I know how to do. I just feel like going back and doing that for a country that did that for my family. It's not really a big commitment.''

So Deng spent the summer with the British team, traversing cities across Europe as it won six games to reach its first goal of advancing to the A Division of the European Championship.

The experience differed greatly from the pampered travels of an NBA team used to five-star hotels and dining.

''In Belarus, they had police officers [by the arena] with machine guns,'' Deng said.

''You had a roommate in small hotels in small cities. We tried to stay with pasta and chicken [for pregame meals], but a lot of times we got something else. I made a lot of trips to McDonald's.''
Deng's hunger to improve and his serious work ethic continue to impress the Bulls' front office.
And general manager John Paxson said he knows his ongoing contract negotiations with Deng's agent -- which could lead to a five-year contract worth more than $50 million before the season opens Oct. 31 -- will not change Deng.

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source : suntimes.com