Every summer, there’s a player who seems to come out of nowhere and start stacking offers. This year, that name might be Teke Deng.
The rising senior big man from Olathe (Kans.) North has been one of the breakout stories on the RecruitLook Circuit with VWBA Elite, but the real story is how long he’s been building toward this moment. Deng was born in Kansas, spent much of his childhood in Kenya, and then returned to his home state for high school.
That transition wasn’t simple. Deng said the move back was tough at first because he had spent eight or nine years there, picked up the language and culture, and had family down there. Still, he said his mother helped make the change feel comfortable.
Basketball was another adjustment entirely. Deng came back to the United States as a freshman still leaning toward soccer, not hoops.
He had size and agility, but not much strength or skill yet. Even so, he kept chasing a big dream.
“I always dreamed big so when I dropped the soccer ball and picked up a basketball, I just wanted to go all the way up to the NBA, that's been my goal from the start,” said Deng. “I was tall skinny and didn't really have a lot of confidence but I had a lot of fun playing so that's why I just kept on sticking with it.”
247Sports has tracked Deng’s rise closely through VWBA Elite, the same summer program that recently produced 2026’s No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft, Keaton Wagler. Deng was a project as a freshman, started to settle in as a sophomore and took another jump as a junior, when he earned a three-star rating and helped a Kansas State Championship team.
That growth has only accelerated this summer. At last weekend’s Nashville Live, Deng flashed the kind of versatility that makes him hard to ignore, attacking the rim, running in transition and making plays in space on the perimeter. He said his high school teammates and summer coach Victor Williams helped push him forward.
“We had leaders who really helped me become better so I feel like they played a big role in my season,” said Deng.
He also pointed to the approach he’s kept throughout the process.
“I feel like I've kept the main thing the main thing like coach Vic tells me to do. I've kept my head down and grinded in the gym.
I play hard, I have a high motor. I play defense, I can guard guards and I feel like I can do anything a guard can at my size.
I'm focused on being high energy first and whenever I'm in the gym I'm trying to work on my shot.”
That work paid off in June, when UNLV became the first school to offer him.
“I was just excited to get that (UNLV) offer. I knew the work was eventually going to show but I was really excited.”
Kansas State followed soon after, and Deng took an unofficial visit to Manhattan. Because it’s close to home, that one hit differently.
“I was excited for the Kansas State offer because it's local. I was very excited. I called my coach Vic just to tell him how excited I was.
“The unofficial over there was amazing. The coaches were cool, the staff was cool and I loved it there.
They love how I play hard, have a high motor and my skill. They say all that added together makes a huge problem for the other team so they just like that about me.”
Now Deng’s list of suitors has grown quickly. In the past few days, he’s heard from Arizona State, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis, USC and others. When he gets on the floor in Chicago this week for the final live period of the summer, he won’t be sneaking up on anyone anymore.
The attention has only added to his confidence.
“It makes me more confident,” said Deng of the growing attention from college coaches. “Seeing all of these coaches just giving me a shot makes me feel very thankful and grateful because they could be going and seeing other players around the country so I feel like I will take the opportunity and show them how hard I can play and how good I can play.”
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