Deng Gak is one of the fastest emerging junior prospects in the country; and his efforts are being rewarded. The 6'10 big-man out of Blacktown, a suburb in Western Sydney, has seen his college recruitment pick-up significantly since he began his stint at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE) - receiving interest from Creighton, USC, California State and Nicholls State among others.

Deng Gak | Credit: Basketball Australia/Kangaroos Photo's

As one of Australia's best prospects for the Class of 2017, Gak's recruitment has only just begun and will likely pick up as we enter the July signing period.

Gak's emergence into the Australian junior basketball ranks came quite suddenly. After an impressive showing at the annual East Coast Challenge, he managed to impress Australian Boomers Head Coach Andrej Lemanis, who had arrived at the tournament on its final day. The big-man managed to impress Lemanis enough for him to offer Gak a scholarship to attend the CoE, where his development has picked up dramatically.

Gak was a member of the NSW Metro squad at this years U18's Australian Junior Championship - averaging a very respectable 7.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.9 apg and 1.9 bpg. Over the next few days we’ll continue to bring you the latest recruitment updates for the Australian U17 Men’s team as they prepare for their FIBA U17 World Championship campaign.

The FIBA U17 World Championships begins on the 8th of August in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with the Australian U17 team tipping off against Japan at 7:30pm (AEST).