The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Majak leading block party at UNH, has NBA dreams
WEST HAVEN — To know that New Haven men’s basketball center Majur Majak is 7-feet-1 with a 7-6 wingspan is probably to make some unfair assumptions.
“When you’re tall, people can expect you to be more than you are, particularly on the offensive end,” Chargers coach Ted Hotaling said. “You have to manage expectations with taller players and you have to help the people around him manage expectations. He’s not going to dunk every single one. He’s not going to catch every single one. He’s not going to make every single basket. He’s not going to get every offensive rebound.”
Majak is not going to block every shot, either — but certainly enough of them. With 52 blocks through 17 games, he has the ninth-most in a New Haven season (statistics kept since 1978) and is on pace to break Eric Anderson’s record of 75 set in 2013-14.
Basketball continues to evolve from the sport of the big man to the sport of every man, with ball-handling, three-point shooting, open-court play and versatility as valuable as having the biggest player in the gym. New Haven is like most teams in the Northeast-10 — and the NBA, for that matter — in that they’re sometimes most effective when they’re most fluid, using two guards and three forwards that aren’t necessarily post players.
Still, when a guy is 85 inches head to toe and 90 inches fingertip to fingertip, there’s room for him in the rotation. Majak averages 20.1 minutes. He also averages 4.8 points and a teamleading 7.5 rebounds for the Chargers (11-6, 7-5), who were third in the NE-10’s Southwest Division heading into Wednesday’s game at Pace.
“We would love to get him the ball more in the post a little deeper,” Hotaling said. “It’s been a challenge for us. There are sometimes in games when we need to score and we’re not going to play him as much. And sometimes it’s a challenge to find someone for him to guard. But I think his offensive game will evolve throughout this year and next. He works on the right things every day, so that will come.”
Majak, a senior who is eligible to return next year, is averaging 3.06 blocks a game — second in the Division II, behind only Clashon Gaffney, a 6-9 senior forward averaging 3.38 for Texas A&M-Commerce. There are eight regular season games remaining, with a ninth guaranteed in the NE-10 Tournament, and Majak needs 24 to pass Anderson.
“My dream is to play professional basketball,” said Majak, 23. “I dream to give back for my family, being stable for my family, the ones who motivated me to go to school. So I want to focus on basketball so I can achieve more than them. My family knows I’m focused on school and basketball and I need to be able to show my family that I got them.”
The son of South Sudanese farmers, Majak hasn’t seen his parents (mother Akon and father Mabior) or his four younger siblings in years, though they speak almost every day. The simple way to explain his arrival to New Haven is to say he played two seasons at Division I St. Peter’s, was unsatisfied with his role, entered the transfer portal, believed in Hotaling’s staff and found a fit with the Chargers.
“He’s a very positive human being no matter what happens around him,” Hotaling said. “That’s his default, and it’s infectious. I think it’s rubbed off of me, our staff, our players. And it helps that he’s 7foot-1 because he can block a lot of shots.”
Majak’s basketball journey is a connect-the-dots from war-torn South Sudan to Los Angeles to New York/New Jersey and finally to Connecticut. He took up basketball in ninth grade and left his immediate family, Dinkas from the small city of Tonj (population: 17,000), as a teenager in 2014, when schools were being shut down during conflicts that followed the country gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
He moved to Kenya with his father’s cousin and lived in Nairobi (population: 4.5 million) for two years, studying and developing as a player. Basketball and educational opportunities in the U.S. became available through Basketball Without Borders, an outreach program founded by the NBA and FIBA in 2001.
Majak, 6-10 when he arrived, attended the Village Christian School in Sun Valley, Calif., then Roselle Catholic High in New Jersey and finally The Patrick School, also in New Jersey, with a host family in New York. He was recruited by many top Division I programs (UConn, Syracuse, San Diego State, Seton Hall and Rutgers among them) and wound up at St. Peter’s of the MAAC.
He redshirted the 2017-18 season, waiting to be cleared by the NCAA, and averaged 0.9 points as a freshman in 2018-19 and 1.6 as a sophomore before transferring. New Haven didn’t play due to the pandemic in 2020-21, and Majak is one of 10 players to debut this season for the Chargers, who are led by Derrick Rowland (14.7 points a game), Dovontrey Thomas (14.4), Quashawn Lane (13.9 points) and Tavin Pierre Philippe (12.9).
“I think we’re finding our touch, getting people back from injuries and COVID,” said Lane, of Trenton, N.J., a three-year starter who averages a team-high 3.7 assists. “Maj has come a long way. Coming to the States from South Sudan is a big adjustment, even coming from the West Coast to the East Coast, then a different school on the East Coast. He has his own little path and it’s unique. He’s making the most of it and I’m proud of him. He’s definitely one of the funniest guys on the team — high-energy, good guy to be around, always about the team.”
The Chargers made the NE-10 finals and the NCAA Tournament in 2019, and the NE-10 finals again in 2020, when there no national tournament was held.
“Basketball has given me an opportunity to make a lot of friends from high school to college,” said Majak, a sport management major. “I just want to win. I'm trying to be a better defender and help my team be able to go where we want to be.”
Ultimately, Majak would love to follow the path of 7-foot-6 Manute Bol, who came from what is now South Sudan and averaged 22.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 7.1 blocks at Division II Bridgeport in 1984-85 before going on to a 10-year career in the NBA. Bol, who died in 2010, is still a big name in South Sudan.
Luol Deng, also originally from what is now South Sudan, is an even bigger name. Deng, a twotime All-Star with the Bulls and an NBA player in 20042019, is active with numerous charities and initiatives in Africa, including Basketball Without Borders.
Majak is at an interesting point in his development — not raw, not refined. It’s isn’t always easy for him to establish the leverage needed to post up those smaller players, but he’s naturally a presence, the Chargers’ detour sign. He also runs the floor pretty well and is shooting 55% from the field (33 of 60) and 71.4% on free throws (10-for-14).
“He was well-coached before we got him,” Hotaling said. “This was not, ‘Hey, it’s a project.’ He has good touch, good hands. Being tall can sometimes be a disadvantage at this level. But Maj knows what he’s good at and what he’s not. Some kids want to show you what they can’t do. Maj always shows you what he can do. He’s fit in seamlessly.
“I’ve learned a lot from him and I think one of the joys in coaching is that you get to learn from your players. The nice thing about Maj is, as Americans, we take things for granted and he doesn’t. We’ve talked about how difficult the pandemic is. But we still have good things. We can practice, we can play, we can be around each other. Honestly, being around him, you take a step back and say, ‘You know, we have it pretty good.’ ”