Cairns Taipans shooting guard Kuany Kuany is just starting his professional basketball but his NBL future is bright.
He played limited minutes in the NBL his rookie season but is set to play a big part of Mike Kelly's new look Cairns Taipans squad with only himself and Nate Jawai set to return next season.
Kuany is one of the many Sudanese Australian basketball stars making noise in the NBL, Europe and the NBA.
We talk to Kuany about NBA stars Thon Maker and Mangok Mathiang and current NBL stars like Majok Majok and Majok Deng and the impact they are having on the Sudanese Community.
The talk even cascades into issues like racism in Australia and why young Sudanese don't feel like they may never be "truly" Australia and what drives young Sudanese youth to become gang members.
2:00 The history of Sudanese Basketball players in Australia.
7:30 The loss of Aaron Fearne as head coach and how that impacts the Cairns Taipans
8:30 Kuany reviews his rookie NBL season
12:30 The NBL Finals and what stood out to Kuany
18:00 What it was like living in Sudan in the middle of a civil war
24:30 Committing to play college basketball for the Chaminade University of Honolulu
27:30 Being recruited by the Cairns Taipans
29:00 Racism that Kuany suffered growing up in Melbourne, thoughts on the Apex Gang and other Sudanese gangs giving Sudanese Australians a bad name
32:00 Why some Sudanese Australian's feel will never be considered Australian
All of this and a whole lot more...
Listen to our previous interviews with the biggest stars in Australian Basketball, head to Aussiehoopla.com. Check out previous podcasts featuring;
Australian Basketball Legends - Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Shane Heal, Mark Bradtke, Andrew Vlahov, CJ Bruton, Chris Anstey, Brett Maher, John Rillie, Tony Ronaldson, Brad Newley
Current NBL Stars - Kevin Lisch, Rotnei Clark, AJ Ogilvy, Damian Martin, Daniel Kickert, Thomas Abercrombie, Jason Cadee, Stephen Holt, Bryce Cotton, Chris Goulding, Mitch McCarron, Cam Gliddon
Our Finest Coaching Minds - Brian Goorjian, Joey Wright, Adrian Hurley, Aaron Fearne, Rob Beveridge, Phil Smyth, Ian Stacker, Shawn Dennis, Dean Vickerman, Trevor Gleeson, Lindsey Gaze
NBA Stars Past & Present - Matthew Dellavedova, Stephen Jackson, Randy Livingston, Torrey Craig, Acie Earl, Josh Childress, Reggie Smith, Todd Lichti
Aussie Basketballers Abroad - Ryan Broekhoff, Brock Motum, Jack White, Ben Madgen, Clint Stiendl, Ater Majok, Rhys Carter, Clint Stiendl
The NBL's Greatest Imports - Darryl McDonald, Ricky Grace, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham, Scott Fisher, Lanard Copeland, Mike Mitchell, Terry Dozier, Isaac Burton, Shawn Redhage, Willie Farley, Al Green, Corey "Homicide" Williams, Andre Moore
And the men who run things - Larry Kestelman, Vince Crivelli, Jeremy Loeliger, Chuck Harmison, Jeff Van Groningen, Bob, Turner
All that and much more. Follow @AussieHoopla on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and email at info@aussiehoopla.com