No Limits

from 2021-22 NAU Men's and Women's Basketball Preseason Yearbook

Message from Mike Marlow, VP for Intercollegiate Athletics

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.

“He guarded their best player on the team for the last seven minutes of the game and helped us beat Montana,” Burcar explained. “That’s his role, he’s just a hustle player.”

Playing defense is one of the most exciting aspects of the game for Aguek.

“I think I’m an all-around player, but defense is a really big part of my game, Aguek said. “It’s really fun and it just feels like I’m in control. I always want to rebound really hard, make great reads and play great defense.”

While it is a team sport that continues to unite people, Aguek also finds joy in the individuality of basketball where athletes can choose to work independently. He, for example, consistently trains both alone and with the team in order to maintain his forward momentum.

“He is such a hard worker and he has never stopped playing hard,” Burcar described. “Playing hard is a skill. It’s a skill that people don’t talk about.”

As a sophomore, Aguek appeared in 21 games and started in three, totaling 72 points, 45 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and nine blocks in 286 minutes of action. His minutes per game more than doubled to 13.5, and his per game averages also saw a jump to 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. “Coach Burcar and I are pretty close. He coaches me hard and I accept his coaching,” Aguek said.

Heading into his third year, Aguek looks forward to the rapidly approaching season, with the Lumberjack team depth and skill constantly in the back of his mind.

Aguek’s commitment, consistency and drive have already carried him a great distance, and will only continue to develop him into an even more complete student-athlete.

Aguek also averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in two conference tournament games last March.

“Since becoming part of this team I have learned that body language is a big deal and your body language can determine a lot in a game,” Aguek added. “Your mindset is important to your performance too.”

He explained that he places high importance on his ability to uplift his teammates, no matter the circumstances, and providing a calming, reassuring presence in unfavoring game situations. At the end of the day, his goal is to win while having fun.

In his time at NAU, Aguek has not only developed athletically, but academically as well.

“I struggled in high school, but NAU offers the tutoring and help I need at the Health and Learning Center,” Aguek said. “I usually go to the HLC twice a week.”

Now a 3.0 student studying health science-fitness wellness and a two-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award recipient in each of his first two years, it is evident that Aguek is just as determined on and off the court.

“His GPA is higher in college than it was in high school, and I think that just tells you about his character,” Burcar applauded.

The new, nearly completed, Student-Athlete High Performance Center will serve as a supplemental tool for student-athletes as well. With an anticipated completion of December, the state-of-theart facility will feature academic resources, specifically designed to further assist all of NAU’s student-athletes in scholarly success.

Overall, Aguek has certainly proved himself in a multitude of challenges, and praises Burcar for never letting off the gas when it comes to training.

“He’s talented, and there’s a lot of talented guys out there, but talent is a little bit overrated,’’ Burcar expressed. “Give me the guy that works hard versus the guy that just thinks he’s good. You write books about guys that are talented and work hard”.