Atem Kuol Atem

Atem Atem
Personal information
Born (1991-12-24) 24 December 1991 (age 33)
Bor, South Sudan
Listed height203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Career information
High schoolIllawarra Sports High School
(Wollongong, New South Wales)
Playing career2014–present
PositionForward
Career history
2014Ipswich Force
2015Eastern Mavericks
2016North-West Tasmania Thunder
2017Goldfields Giants
2018North Adelaide Rockets
2019Shepparton Gators
2020South West Metro Pirates
2021–2022Northside Wizards
2023Ipswich Force

Atem Kuol Atem Bol (born 24 December 1991) is a South Sudanese basketball player who last played for the Ipswich Force of the NBL1 North.

Early life

Atem was born in Bor, South Sudan.[1] He and his family spent four years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya before moving to Sydney, Australia, where he was introduced to basketball by his high school teacher. He started to take the sport seriously when he was offered a scholarship to Illawarra Sports High School in Wollongong, and from there he earned a scholarship to Northern Oklahoma College in the United States.[2] Atem was on the 2012–13 roster at North Oklahoma College, but he was forced to redshirt the season, which made him re-think his commitment and ultimately led to him deciding not to return to the program for the 2013–14 season.[3]

Career in the Australian state leagues

Atem made his Australian state league debut in 2014, playing a handful of games for the Ipswich Force in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL). He spent the majority of the year with the Force's Southern Basketball League (SBL) affiliate team and was named the MVP of the SBL team.[4][5]

For the 2014–15 NBL season, Atem was a member of the Adelaide 36ers' development program.[2] He participated in the team's preseason exhibition matches.[3] He remained in South Australia for the 2015 Premier League season, where he played for the Eastern Mavericks.[6] He continued on with the 36ers for the 2015–16 NBL season as a member of the team's training squad.[2]

In November 2015, Atem signed with the North-West Tasmania Thunder for the 2016 SEABL season.[7] In 20 games for the Thunder, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.[8]

On 31 October 2016, Atem signed with the Goldfields Giants for the 2017 State Basketball League season.[9] In 23 games for the Giants, he averaged 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.[10][11]

In December 2017, Atem signed with the North Adelaide Rockets for the 2018 season, returning to the Premier League for a second stint.[12] In 18 games, he averaged 13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.[13]

In March 2019, Atem signed with the Shepparton Gators of the Big V Division One.[14][15] In 27 games, he averaged 19.37 points, 9.89 rebounds and 1.11 assists per game.[16]

In 2020, Atem played for the South West Metro Pirates in the Queensland State League (QSL).[17]

In March 2021, Atem signed with the Northside Wizards for the 2021 NBL1 North season.[18][19] In 12 games, he averaged 13.33 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.41 assists per game.[20]

In April 2022, Atem re-signed with the Wizards for the 2022 season.[21] In 15 games, he averaged 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.[22]

Atem joined the Ipswich Force for the 2023 NBL1 North season. In nine games, he averaged 6.11 points and 3.78 rebounds per game.[23]

National team

In March 2017, Atem played for the South Sudanese national team at the FIBA AfroBasket 2017 qualifiers. In four games, he averaged 9.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Atem Kuol Atem's profile". FIBA.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Cross, Neil (27 October 2015). "Sudanese refugees, Mawut Deng and Atem Atem, join Adelaide 36ers NBL training squad". ABC.net.au. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b Nagy, Boti (27 August 2014). "Daequon Montreal and Atem Atem to make Adelaide 36ers debuts in Darwin against Townsville crocodiles and Japan". AdelaideNow.com.au. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ^ "That's a Wrap! - 2014 QBL & SBL Awards". SportsTG.com. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  5. ^ Lems, David (18 September 2014). "American MVP is keen to sign again for 2015 Force". QT.com.au. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  6. ^ Nagy, Boti (11 March 2016). "Basketball Premier League tips off tonight — but who knew?". AdelaideNow.com.au. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  7. ^ Morris, Terry (6 November 2015). "Thunder retains Jackson, signs Atem". Examiner.com.au. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Player statistics for Atem Atem". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Giants strike early in recruit search". GoldfieldsGiants.com. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Atem Atem". GoldfieldsGiants.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Player statistics for Atem Atem". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  12. ^ "ATEM ATEM TO PLAY AT NORTH ADELAIDE IN 2018". SportsTG.com. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Player statistics for Atem Atem – 2018". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Alex (6 March 2019). "Gators sign American import Jerron Jamerson". mcivortimes.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  15. ^ Payne, Aydin (30 March 2019). "Shepparton Gators Atem Atem profile". sheppnews.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  16. ^ "Player statistics for Atem Atem – 2019". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  17. ^ "2020 QSL Teams – South West Metro Pirates". basketballqld.com.au. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Pilpel Northside Wizards sign 6'8 forward Atem Atem to their already impressive NBL1 North roster". facebook.com/northsidewizards. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  19. ^ "Wizards sign Atem". NBL1.com.au. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Atem Atem". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  21. ^ "NBL1 North PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT⁠". facebook.com/northsidewizards. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Atem Kuol Atem". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Atem Atem". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Atem Kuol Atem BOL". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.