Deng Deng is this year’s Mr. Basketball.
The Four Winds/Minnewaukan forward was a force that led the Indians to a No. 3 ranking in Division A during the regular season. He averaged 27.2 points per game, including a 47-point performance that tied a school record. He shot 56% overall, 26% from deep and 68% from the free throw line. He added eight rebounds per game.
Deng’s points per game were the most among the eight nominees for Mr. Basketball, which included three Division AA players: Fargo South’s James Hamilton, Williston’s Isiah St. Romain and Fargo North’s Carter Zeller. Three of the nominees also hailed from the Lake Region, with Wylee Delorme from Devils Lake and Dane Hagler from North Star receiving nods, in addition to Deng.
Deng is the second player to win Mr. Basketball in FW/M history. He joins Jason Feather, who won it in 2016. Two Devils Lake players have won it: Grant Nelson in 2020 and Travis Mertens in 2006.
The other nominees Deng beat out on Friday were Bohden Duffield from Bowman County and Max Musland from LaMoure-Litchville/Marion.
Deng’s stats speak for themselves, but just his presence on the court made an obvious difference in every game the Indians played. As a football commit to the University of North Dakota, he was bigger and stronger than the majority of his opponents, and he was able to maneuver his way through almost any kind of pressure. He routinely made multiple thundering dunks a game, and consistently found ways to get to the rim.
FW/M went 17-4 during the regular season — though two of those losses came at the beginning of the season, when Deng was hurt. The Indians’ only two regular-season losses with Deng came to Devils Lake and Kindred — the two teams that ended up squaring off in the state championship. FW/M faced a tough draw in the Region 2 tournament and fell to Devils Lake and Grafton, two squads that ended up winning the championship and third-place game, respectively.
After being named the best high school basketball player in North Dakota, Deng’s focus will shift to football. UND recruited him as a wide receiver. He averaged 82.5 receiving yards per game during his senior football season, and was selected to the All-State First Team. He’ll spend the next four years in Grand Forks after growing up in the tiny town of Tokio, North Dakota.
