No Limits
AJANG AGUEK REALIZING FULL POTENTIAL ON AND OFF THE COURT BY ADRIANNA CANDELARIA Listed at 6-8, Northern Arizona junior Ajang Aguek certainly stands out in a crowd. However, his stature was not the only factor that caught men’s basketball head coach Shane Burcar’s attention. “The first time I saw Ajang, I loved his passion and how hard he played,” Burcar said, “He had great energy and he’s just someone you want to build a program with.” Aguek, a First Team All-District honoree and team captain at Ironwood High School in Glendale, Ariz., averaged 14 points and eight rebounds during his four-year career. He was also selected as Ironwood’s Most Improved Player and participated in the Arizona Top 250 Showcase. Although Burcar was bought in from the very beginning, he was still only an assistant coach at NAU during Aguek’s final year at Ironwood. Without the ability to make executive decisions regarding recruitment, nevertheless, Burcar continued to keep in contact with Aguek. With dreams of becoming a collegiate athlete since picking up a basketball in seventh grade, Aguek’s current academic standing seemed to be the only obstacle in his midst. “I thought I might end up at a community college, because my grades in high school were just not where they were supposed to be,” Aguek said. While any other coach might have found his grades slightly concerning, Burcar was willing to overlook this speed bump because of his confidence in Aguek’s work ethic. “My background is coaching high school, and you can always see those guys who might struggle academically because the resources simply aren’t there,” Burcar explained. “The hard work is what kept my mind going with him”. After communicating with the Ironwood forward for about two years, Burcar convinced former head coach Jack Murphy to invite Aguek up to Flagstaff on an unofficial visit. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Burcar, Murphy was finalizing plans to accept a position as the associate head coach at Arizona. From the outside looking in, Aguek had a strong showing during the team workout, but, after the fact, Aguek admitted it was a bit of a struggle. “I was dying and I didn’t know why I was so out of breath until they told me about the elevation,” Aguek said. Following the practice, Murphy approached Burcar to discuss Aguek’s performance.
Exuding excitement, Burcar expressed his keen interest in signing Aguek, and received permission from Murphy to officially offer Aguek a scholarship and a spot on the team. In June of 2019, approximately 48 hours after Aguek’s acceptance, Burcar was named interim head coach in place of Murphy for the upcoming season, and after a successful interim campaign, was appointed the permanent head coach. During Aguek’s freshman year with the Lumberjacks he appeared in 25 games, totaling 43 points, 21 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in 141 minutes of action. In limited action – just under six minutes per game, he averaged 1.7 points and nearly a rebound in each matchup. In his NAU debut on Nov. 15, 2019 against SAGU American Indian College, Aguek scored a personal best 12 points and had four rebounds. Several months later, Aguek also tied his career high of seven rebounds against conference competitor, Northern Colorado, additionally putting up seven points, two assists, and one block. However, a special memory of Aguek’s is the comeback win over Montana in his first season with the ‘Jacks.
2021-22 NORTHERN ARIZONA MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL YEARBOOK
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