A SILVERSWORD OLYMPIAN

Kuany Kuany ‘17 represented South Sudan in the Paris Games

WHEN THE SOUTH SUDAN OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM arrived back home after playing strong in Paris, they got nothing less than a hero’s welcome. Local media said thousands of fans and dignitaries came out to Juba International Airport to cheer the players.

It was a big moment for South Sudan—and proof of just how global the Chaminade alumni family is. That’s because the team captain who addressed revelers was none other than Kuany Kuany ’17, one of the most decorated players in school history.

Kuany played guard with the Chaminade Silverswords basketball team for four years. He was Chaminade’s first four-time All-Pacific West Conference honoree and ranks third in all-time scoring. Since leaving Chaminade, Kuany has played professionally—including in Australia and Croatia— and made his Olympics debut in Paris when South Sudan qualified for the first time, a source of great pride for the war-torn country.

Kuany, 30, says he was honored to be representing South Sudan on the global stage.

“It brought so much joy for us,” he told GoSwords.com before playing in the Games. “The war in Sudan, famine, a lot of negative things that the media portrays our country. But we are a nation blessed with great athletes and natural resources.”

To all those jubilant fans who met the basketball team after their return from Paris, Kuany said, "The whole world now knows who South Sudan is … through basketball.”

Kuany says playing at Chaminade was a transformative experience—and taught him about the game and about himself. “People saw us as the underdogs every time. I feel the same with South Sudan as being the underdogs each game. We believe in ourselves and work really hard to accomplish our goals,” Kuany said.