DENG

ADEL

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Holds the Ottawa BlackJacks franchise record in points (724) and sits second in games played (46), rebounds (266), assists (209) and blocks (23) … Will eclipse Zena Edosomwan when he records his fourth rebound of the season and Kadre Gray when he records his third assist of the year for the franchise lead in both of those categories


2024-25: Has made 13 appearances for the Brisbane Bullets of the Australian NBL across both regular season and NBL Blitz contests … Made his Brisbane debut on Sept. 7 at Tasmania (89-76 win) in the season opening NBL Blitz tournament game and registered eight points with three assists … Recorded a season-high 19 points in the following game on Sept. 10  vs. Melbourne (111-104 win) … Brisbane would eventually win each of their three NBL Blitz games to claim the Loggins-Bruton Cup 


2023-24: Spent the overseas portion of his season with Boulazac Basket Dordogne (LNB Pro B) in the second division of French basketball … Played in 40 games with the team and averaged 7.7 points per-game … Ranked in a tie for second on the club in total blocks (11) and tied for third in rebounds (120) … Made nine appearances for Ottawa and recorded a season high in points (29) while taking a season high 16 field goal attempts on July 14 at Montreal (84-76 win) … Had a double-double in rebounds (10) and assists (10) while adding eight points in the BlackJacks’ 94-91 quarterfinal loss at Niagara on Aug. 4


2022-23: Split his fifth professional season between the Bakken Bears (Basketligaen) and BC Balkan (BUL NBL) averaging 12.4 points per-game and 5.2 rebounds per-game across the two teams … Has his most effective Basketligaen regular season game on 11/17/22 at Svendborg (106-81 win) when he scored 31 points with 11 rebounds … Made his debut in the highest-level of professional basketball in Bulgaria for BC Balkan on 3/11/23 at BC Rilski Sportist (77-76 loss) … Concluded the overseas portion of his season with five consecutive double digit scoring efforts from 5/17/23 to 6/1/23 … Began his second CEBL year on 6/9/23 at Calgary (86-79 loss) and eventually scored at least 11 points in 15 of his 17 regular season and playoff appearances for the BlackJacks … Led Ottawa in scoring with 17.5 points per-game which placed him tenth league wide among players who dressed for at least five games … Named to the All-CEBL Second Team 


2021-22: Returned to the G League with the Maine Celtics and averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per-game in 26 appearances … Registered five assists on two separate occasions in games against Delaware (a 114-103 loss on 11/12/21 and a 111-107 loss on 1/13/22) … Scored in double figures in seven consecutive games from 2/10/22 to 3/4/22 highlighted by a double-double which featured a season-high 13 rebounds in the final game of the run (a 95-90 loss at Cleveland) … Made his CEBL debut for Ottawa on 5/25/22 vs. Fraser Valley (90-87 loss) scoring a personal CEBL single game high 37 points with nine rebounds and five assists. The game still stands as the highest single game point total from any player in team history …  Finished the campaign ranked second on the BlackJacks in points per-game (16.3) and assists per-game (4.5) while sitting third in rebounds per-game (6.1), one spot behind current Golden State Warrior, Jackson Rowe


2020-21: Began his first professional season overseas when he suited up for the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL on 1/16/21 at Brisbane (90-84 win) … Ranked fourth on the team in assists per-game (2.0) … Scored a season high 19 points while going a perfect four-for-four from behind the arc to help Illawarra to a 98-89 win vs. Adelaide on 3/4/21 … Recorded his lone double-double of the season when he registered 11 points and 11 rebounds on 3/29/21 vs. Brisbane (96-72 win)


2019-20: Spent the entire season with the Long Island Nets (G League) where he scored 15 or more points in nine of his 29 appearances … Provided 27 points while going four of seven from three-point range on 11/11/19 vs. College Park (120-109 loss) … Scored a personal G League single game high in points with 29 to go along with 10 rebounds on 11/29/19 vs. Raptors 905 (112-111 loss).  The game was one of his two double-doubles on the season


2018-19: Went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft and signed with the Houston Rockets for the NBA Summer League before signing a training camp contract with the Toronto Raptors on 9/14/18 … Appeared in two preseason games for the club before being waived and joining the Raptors 905 where he eventually posted averages of 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per-game in 25 appearances … Signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on 1/15/19 and made his NBA debut on 1/19/19 at Denver (124-102 loss) scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds … Made 19 appearances with the Cavaliers and averaged 1.7 points and 1.0 rebounds per-game

COLLEGE CAREER

2017-18: Led the Louisville Cardinals (ACC) in scoring with 15.0 points per-game during his junior season … Ranked second on the team in rebounds per-game (5.2) and assists per-game (2.8) … Recognized as an All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball team selection for the third consecutive year … Opened the season by scoring at least 20 points in two consecutive games on 11/12/17 vs. George Mason (72-61 win) and 11/17/17 vs. Omaha (87-78 win) … Scored an NCAA career high 27 points with 11 rebounds in the Cardinals 94-86 win vs. Virginia Tech on 1/13/18 … Was one rebound and two assists short of a triple-double when he recorded 10 points in Louisville’s 75-68 win at Virginia Tech on 2/24/18


2016-17:  Was the primary starter at small forward and scored in double digits in 22 of his 33 games played … Recorded his first career collegiate double-double with 12 points and a personal NCAA single game high 12 rebounds on 12/7/16 vs. Southern Illinois (74-51 win)  … Louisville’s leading scorer over the last six games of the season, averaging 16.3 points per-game … Provided 21 points against Duke in the quarterfinals of the 2016 ACC Tournament on 3/8/16 (81-77 loss) … Made his NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament debut in Louisville's 78-63 first round win against Jacksonville State on 3/17/17 and scored 16 points in each of his team’s two games in the event which included a 73-69 loss against Michigan in the second round on 3/19/17


2015-16:  Began his freshman season at Louisville and started each of his first two games before suffering an injury which sidelined him for a month … Scored 12 points vs. Virginia (63-47 loss) on 1/30/16 while going two for four from behind the arc to collect his first three-pointers of the season … Totaled season highs with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and 34 minutes vs. Boston College (79-47 win) on 2/6/16 … Started on 2/20/16 vs. Duke (71-64 win) finishing the game with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists to mark one of six games in which he scored at least eight points in a contest … Averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per-game while being named by DraftExpress.com as the top college player at the adidas Nations camp in July 2016

PERSONAL

Has two brothers (Malual, Akec) and two sisters (Monica, Laade) … Has a seven foot wingspan … Ranked No. 23 nationally in the 2025 recruiting class by Scout.com, No. 32 in the ESPN 100, No. 37 by 247sports.com and No. 47 by Rivals.com … Averaged 19.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per-game at Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Fla. in 2014-15 as his team posted a 27-9 record … Was an All-State selection by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches as a senior … Also played soccer and competed in track while in Australia where he moved to from Africa in 2004 before coming to the United States in 2013

Full Bio

Ottawa BlackJacks Re-Sign Deng Adel

By Ottawa BlackJacks • April 28, 2025
The franchise's career scoring leader returns for his fourth season with the team

Deng Adel erupts for 29 points as BlackJacks down Alliance to take third in Eastern Conference

July 15, 2024
Deng Adel scored a game-high 29 points, including seven in Target Score Time alone, to lead the Ottawa BlackJacks (6-9) to an 84-76 victory over the Montreal Alliance (4-12), Sunday afternoon from Verdun Auditorium. Adel got his 29 on an efficient 11-of-16 from the field, including a 3-for-4 mark from deep. “It felt good, especially when you see that first shot going in and, obviously your confidence goes up,” said Adel after the game. “And [kudos] to my teammates trusting in me. I know I just got here so for my teammates and my coaches to allow me to do what I do it makes me feel comfortable out there.” Added BlackJacks head coach James Derouin: “He was awesome. Deng’s my guy. This is the third year that we’re together and we’ve been waiting for him all summer to finish in France and national team stuff and I’m glad we waited for him.” The win now leaps Ottawa over the Brampton Honey Badgers for third place in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand. With Montreal given an automatic berth to CEBL Championship Weekend as the host of this year’s finale, the BlackJacks have been in a dogfight all season long trying to catch the Honey Badgers and claim that final post-season spot. “It’s been kind of stressful, but we’re trying to get as many wins as we can,” said Deng. “We’ve got two in a row and now we’ve just got to build from that.” As part of their winning formula Sunday, the BlackJacks were bombing from outside, shooting 13-of-32 from three-point range, including a three from Adel in Target Score Time and the game-winning triple from Tevin Brown. “We made some changes to the roster over the last week and a half and added some more shooting,” said Derouin. “Patrick Whelan now comes off the bench for us and he’s a really good shooter. Shamar [Givance] as well at the point guard position made some threes, so those adjustments have helped with our pacing and our shooting and, obviously, Tevin Brown is big time from three.” By comparison, the Alliance shot just 4-for-24 from distance and, as has been an issue all season long, simply turned the ball over too much, committing 22 turnovers that led to 26 Ottawa points. “It’s not even about what the other team is doing. We’re gifting the ball,” said Alliance head coach Derrick Alston Sr. “I don’t know if it’s nerves and, of course, we’re trying to acclimate some new guys that are trying to get used to what we do, but, at the end of the day, this is what we do. We play basketball. Just to turn the ball over with no pressure … I just think confidence is low.” It also didn’t help that Ahmed Hill, one of Montreal’s most consistent performers had an off night, managing just two points and going 0-for-11 from the floor. However, despite Hill’s out-of-character performance and the turnover issues, the Alliance still had their opportunities to win. The BlackJacks looked poised to blow the game wide open during multiple points, but every time that happened, the Alliance would respond with a run of their own to close the distance, culminating with a 9-3 run in the fourth quarter to bring the game into Target Score Time, with the BlackJacks clinging to a 73-70 lead. The Alliance were able to keep things close throughout the game despite all the turnovers they committed and three-point shooting disparity between them and the BlackJacks because of the excellent work they did on the offensive glass and the job they did getting to the free-throw line. Montreal big men Chris Smith and Elijah Ifejeh were both excellent Sunday, with Smith finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds and Ifejeh with 22 points and nine boards – six coming on the offensive end – and the pair combining to go 10-for-11 from the charity stripe. Ottawa had no answer for Montreal’s two talented bigs, and it looks like something that can be built on as Championship Weekend creeps ever closer. There’s still some time for the Alliance to figure out who they are how they can make some noise in the championship tournament, and the unique combination of versatile skill and bruising force inside that Smith and Ifejeh provide could just be that key. “We dominated the paint, which was really impressive,” said Alston. “Elijah and Chris really did a number on those guys. We dominated the boards and we did things that we’ve talked about. You see parts of the game that we’ve worked on and it shows.” Ultimately, however, there just proved to be too much Adel and three-point acumen from the BlackJacks for the Alliance to handle on Sunday. Up Next The BlackJacks will next open a three-game homestand July 18 against the Scarborough Shooting Stars, the next team in their sights as they continue to climb the Eastern Conference standings. Montreal’s next opponent is also the Shooting Stars, in Scarborough, on July 16.

Shooting Stars visit BlackJacks in nation’s capital for mid-season rematch

June 27, 2024
The Scarborough Shooting Stars (6-4) head east to visit the Ottawa BlackJacks (2-7) for their second of three regular season matchups on Thursday night. Live coverage from The Arena at TD Place begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, available on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor , TSN+, and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. After meeting two weeks prior, things have gone in opposite directions for both squads. Scarborough picked up a 15-point win against Ottawa on June 13, and since then, have gone 2-1 and remain half-a-game behind Niagara for top spot in the East. Meanwhile, the BlackJacks have gone 1-2 and sit at the bottom of the conference. The Shooting Stars have been a model of consistency so far, going an identical 3-2 through the first two quarters of the year. They do, however, enter Thursday with a bit of momentum to start their three-game road trip, having won back-to-back games that coincided with the return of their top-scorer from last season. Cat Barber made his season debut for the defending champs on Friday, helping Scarborough pick up a 13-point win over Brampton. He and the Shooting Stars followed that up with a 92-84 win over the Montreal Alliance on Sunday, and through two games Barber is averaging 16 points and 5.5 assists. His efficiency rates haven’t been the sharpest, shooting 42.9 per cent from the field and 33.3 per cent from distance but the guard’s castmates have more than handled things while he’s brushed off the rust. Against the Honey Badgers, Donovan Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. And in their most-recent game against the Alliance, it was Tevian Jones who did most of the damage, finishing with a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with four steals. Thanks to said standout performances, the pair of wings now lead the Shooting Stars in average scoring per game. And when you include microwave scorers Jackson Rowe and Kadre Gray and take into account head coach Devan Blair’s movement-heavy offence, it’s no wonder Scarborough averages the most points (93.5) and assists (23.4) per game in the league. Meanwhile, Ottawa is hoping to turn a page as they return to TD Place for a three-game stand in front of a home crowd. It’s been tough sledding for the BlackJacks as their previous three games were against the top three records in the CEBL. And after it felt like they were trending in the right direction with a four-point win to the River Lions and then an even tighter 92-91 defeat against the Stingers, all momentum halted against Vancouver. The BlackJacks suffered a 37-point loss to the Bandits in a game they never led in the second-largest defeat any CEBL team has suffered this season. And to add insult to injury (or rather, injury to insult), Brandon Sampson, the team’s second-leading scorer (15 points per game) went down late in the fourth quarter and was later placed on Ottawa’s injured list. The news of Sampson’s presumed long-term absence came after the BlackJacks were already dealing with injuries to leading-scorer Isiah Moore and JaKeenan Gant. Things may seem bleak, but there’s still plenty to be optimistic about for Ottawa given the reinforcements on the way. For starters, Deng Adel is set to make his season debut against the Shooting Stars. The 2023 All-CEBL Second teamer will immediately improve a thin frontcourt and add defensive versatility the squad has lacked while giving up the second most points per game (95.7). Last year Adel averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and a steal in 17 games with the BlackJacks. Meanwhile, Ottawa also adds a player Scarborough is very familiar with. The team signed forward Kyree Walker on Tuesday, likely slotting in for the now-injured Sampson. The champion last year with the Shooting Stars was a two-way player, impacting both ends of the floor. In 18 games with Scarborough in 2023, Walker averaged 12.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals. He made two appearances with the Shooting Stars this season before moving to the Ontario rival. With nine of their final 11 games against Eastern Conference opponents, if things can break right for the BlackJacks they can easily shake up the standings. With Brampton and both at 3-8, it would take chaining together only a couple wins to jump as high as third in the East. Previous matchup In Scarborough’s 105-92 win against Ottawa earlier this season, it was their focus on ball-movement and perimeter play that made the difference. The Shooting Stars racked up 31 assists (+12) as they knocked down a season-high 20 threes (+13) on a hyper-efficient 44 per cent clip. Six different players hit at least two threes, with Jones leading the way as he went 5-for-7 from downtown en route to 23 points.

Ottawa BlackJacks Re-Sign Starters Deng Adel and Zena Edosomwan

May 23, 2024
The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday the re-signing of Deng Adel and Zena Edosomwan for the upcoming 2024 CEBL season. The two players will join the team at the conclusion of their international duties. A six-foot-seven forward from Juba, South Sudan, Deng Adel returns to the Capital for a third season after becoming the first non-American import to sign with Ottawa in 2022. Last summer with the BlackJacks, Adel averaged 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 31.8 minutes in 17 games played with the team, earning a spot on the All-CEBL Second Team. He led the team in points per game and recorded a season-high 28 points, shooting nine-for-18 from the field, along with seven rebounds on July 27 against Vancouver. In 2019, after starting in 24 of his 25 outings with the Raptors 905, Adel signed a two-way NBA contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Four days later, he was called into the game against Denver and scored his first triple. It would be his first of 19 games with the Cavaliers. He played a season-high 36 minutes, totalling five points, two rebounds and a season-high two blocks February 8 against Washington and scored a season-high six points, shooting two-for-two from behind the arc January 27 against Chicago. He also played for the Houston Rockets during the 2019 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 8.8 points in five games. Collegiately, Adel started in 71 of 89 games in his three years at Louisville. His junior season, he led the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. He also averaged 5.2 rebounds that year. A six-foot-nine center from Los Angeles, California, Zena Edosomwan is set to make his return with the Ottawa BlackJacks for a third consecutive season. Last year, he averaged 8.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 22.3 minutes in 13 games played with the team. He concluded the regular season leading the team in rebounds per game and blocks per game. He recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on June 22 against Montreal. The Harvard University alumnus began his professional career in 2019-20 with the Gigantes de Jalisco in the Basketball Circuit of the Pacific Coast, a professional basketball league based in Northwestern Mexico before moving to Canada to complete the season with the Sudbury Five, recording averages of 16.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17 games played. Collegiately, Edosomwan suited up for 107 games with the Harvard Crimson and finished seventh all-time at Harvard in blocks with 108. Upon graduation, Edosomwan was named to the 2017 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List, an annual honour recognizing the top centers in men’s college basketball in the United States. The Los Angeles native had his best statistical season as a Junior in 2015-16, averaging 13.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 28 games played. He was named to the NABC All-District 13 second team and All-Ivy League second team that year. The Ottawa BlackJacks 2024 single game tickets are on sale now at https://www.theblackjacks.ca/single-game-tickets . The team's fifth season will kick off at The Arena at TD Place on May 29, promising professional basketball and exciting entertainment in a family-friendly environment. For more information, please visit www.theblackjacks.ca or contact the Ottawa BlackJacks Membership Services team directly at 613-690-0519 or by email at [email protected] . Quotes: “Deng and Zena were two key pieces of our roster over the past two years, and we're happy to bring them back for a third season. They are solid players, great teammates, and inspiring role models for our community. We're looking forward to welcoming them back to Ottawa once they conclude their duties in Europe." - James Derouin, General Manager and Head Coach, Ottawa BlackJacks Basketball Club