This feature originally appeared in the 2022-23 Winter edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.




The name Kuany means "to pick something up." Taking the definition further, it means to pick up another person's legacy.

For Cal men's basketball senior Kuany Kuany – named after his grandfather who passed away before he was born – the meaning rings true every day.

"My grandfather had a big name in my family's community and I'm picking up where he left off," Kuany said. "I'm moving that legacy forward."

Born in Kakuma, Kenya, to South Sudanese parents before relocating to Melbourne, Australia, with his family at 6 years old, Kuany approaches daily life on and off the basketball court with an optimism that has been instilled in him by his family. Between knowing the trials and tribulations his parents experienced while going back and forth between South Sudan and Kenya when he was young and seeing his older brother, Deng, achieve the goal of playing college basketball at NCAA Division II Eastern New Mexico, Kuany doesn't have to look far for motivation.

 "It's a no-brainer for me to keep pushing forward, because I know people who have been through worse," Kuany said.

Following in Deng's footsteps, Kuany moved to the United States by himself at age 15 to chase his basketball and academic dreams. Kuany attended and played at Victory Rock Prep in Sarasota, Florida, for the first three years of his high school career before transferring to Prolific Prep in Napa for his senior season. It was at Prolific Prep that Kuany saw his college recruitment process gain steam, ultimately landing him in Bear Territory.

"I had a dream and I just went for it," Kuany said. "The opportunities have continued knocking and I keep taking them every time."

Despite a slow start to his college recruitment, Kuany was familiar with Cal assistant coach Chris Harriman, a fellow Australian regarded as a top international recruiter and who had recently joined head coach Mark Fox's staff in Berkeley in the spring of 2019. It wasn't long after Fox's coaching staff came together that a visit to Napa was made to see Kuany play, and the 6-foot-9 forward soon became the first player to commit to the Golden Bears under Fox.

"I knew about Kuany while he was attending Victory Rock and when I was an assistant coach at New Mexico," Harriman said. "Going to see Kuany play at Prolific Prep was one of the first things we did as a staff at Cal. We were fortunate to be in a spot to have Kuany come visit immediately and see him commit."

Kuany's adjustment to college life in Berkeley wasn't so much about homesickness – he had already been away from his family in Australia for multiple years while playing prep basketball in Florida and California – as much as it was time management.

"It's probably fair to say '2K' was overwhelmed when he first stepped on campus, but he opened himself to support, to work and to the growth that resulted," Fox said. "He has thrived in so many ways and become a great example to everyone. He has an infectious spirit that always brightens the room."

Balancing athletics and academics at the No. 1 public university in the country presented its fair share of surprises early on for Kuany, but over time he settled into a comfort zone and worked his way into being a Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll selection by the end of his sophomore year.

"College is so fast-paced and it took me a while to understand how much goes into being a student-athlete here," said Kuany, who is on pace to graduate with his degree in sociology this May. "Once I figured that part out, it's been smooth sailing. Now I'm one of the older players who are here to get our younger guys ready. We don't hold any secrets; we share what we've been through, both personally and academically."

Kuany's selfless mindset has translated to the basketball court, where he's looked to as a leader for the Bears this season. After averaging just 3.2 points and 11.2 minutes played per game in his first three seasons at Cal, Kuany has more than doubled both figures as a senior. Teammates have taken notice of his consistent approach - win or lose - and seen how his game has developed as a result.

"When I first arrived in Berkeley, I was in the gym with '2K' a lot," said freshman forward Grant Newell, who has earned a starting role alongside Kuany in his first season with the Bears. "He's really diligent with his routine; he's in the gym three times a day - before, during, and after practice. That kind of work doesn't go unnoticed and has made a difference with how I try to approach my game and my preparation."

While the results haven't been what Kuany and his teammates have wanted during the first half of the 2022-23 season, the forward's leadership by example and ever-appearing smile have played key roles in keeping the locker room focused on the opportunities ahead of them.

"We're staying together; no one has cracked during this tough start and everyone is showing up and putting in the work – the extra work – every day," Kuany said. "Knowing how hard we've worked makes going out there and playing with my teammates even easier. When we take the court, we know we're playing for something bigger than ourselves."

Kuany's outlook has always been about something bigger than himself or the game of basketball, and he's made sure to encourage his younger brother, Kiir – who arrived in the U.S. in October to pursue his athletic and academic goals – to think the same, just like Deng taught Kuany. 

"He's remained the same Kuany through it all," Harriman said. "He's loved by his teammates, he's loved by his staff. He shows up with the same mentality every day. Very few times has he ever had a bad day, and I mean that by his enthusiasm, his effort, his energy, and his perspective - not only in basketball, but in life. I'm prouder of who he is and the fact that he's remained that way than anything he could accomplish on the basketball court because he's going to be someone who going to have a major impact on this world through his relationships and his mentoring so many Sudanese-Australian kids in the future."