Syracuse Basketball Throwback Thursday: Go Back in the Day With Kueth Duany

Kueth Duany was born on April 22, 1980 in Sudan. During a time of civil unrest and basic human right violations, the Sudan underwent its second civil war beginning in April of 1983, just three years after Duany's birth. From early history, the Sudan central government has attempted to exploit the underdeveloped regions of the South Sudan. In 1978, American oil giant Chevron came across unutilized oil in the South Sudan region. After becoming aware of the unused oil, Khartoum (Capital of Sudan) ventured to redraw the boundaries of South Sudan which would bring the oilfields to the north. The attempt to redraw boundaries would be in vain and after the failure, Khartoum began to take the area by force. This marked the beginning of the country's second civil war and also the beginning of a new adventure for the Duany family.

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At just four years of age, Duany, his three siblings and his pregnant mother would leave the country on a flight to Amsterdam in effort to escape persecution. Duany's father, Wal Duany, was persecuted for being a Christian in government office, an offense under Islamic law. Wal Duany sought to obtain a visa to enroll in Indiana University's doctorate program in hopes of providing his family a better life. His family would eventually land in Indiana and Wal would join them after serving his prison sentence of five months. The Duany's would eventually have two more children and all five of them would play at the Division I level.

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Duany's career as a Syracuse Orange got off to anything but an auspicious start as he redshirted the 1998-1999 season due to a knee injury. In his redshirt freshman campaign, Duany would play sparingly, averaging just 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Duany showed flashes of brilliance that made people believe he would be a good player one day.

Eventually Duany would work himself into a key role toward's the end of his sophomore year and increased his numbers across the board. Nobody doubted Duany's potential as a long athlete and tremendous quickness, but his jump shot still left a lot to be desired.

By the time Duany was a junior he had earned himself a starting role, a job he would never relinquish for the remainder of his career in orange. By then Duany had developed a nice shooting stroke and it showed in his numbers as he increased his three point field goal percentage by 6.5 percent. He would finish third in scoring with 12.2 point per game behind Preston Shumpert and DeShaun Williams, respectively.

In his senior year, Duany would slide back to the guard position to allow Carmelo Anthony to start at small forward. Duany would rotate between the guard and forward spot depending on who was on the floor. Duany had to take a lesser role in his final season but did so for benefit of the team. His selflessness exemplified his leadership ability and the team was better because of his high-character persona. Duany went on to have vital performances in Syracuse's NCAA Tournament run with 12 points and 5 rebounds against Auburn in the Sweet 16, 8 points and 5 rebounds against Oklahoma in the Elite Eight and 11 points and 4 rebounds in the championship game against Kansas.

Duany played both the guard and the forward spot during his career, which isn't easy. The dynamic between the guard and forward position are dramatic as the positions require different responsibilities within the 2-3 zone. Duany was the captain and lone senior on the 2003 National Championship team and proved to be the ultimate glue guy -- a true difference maker that the then Orangemen wouldn't have won a championship without.

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All the while Duany was in the United States, the turmoil in Sudan was ongoing. The war didn't end until 2005 when the Sudan People's Liberation Movement signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the government of Sudan. The CPA was an agreement to end the war and to split the share of oil revenue. In total, the war waged on for 22 years where roughly two million people died and over four million people were displaced.

Following his career at Syracuse, Duany played professionally in Finland and Germany. Duany is the current CEO of Ch'iang Wei Ltd (CW), a brokerage firm based out of Juba South Sudan. CW's mission is to store and transport natural energy to help Sudan become a more sustainable environment. CW also trades commodities such as oil, metals & mining as well as targeting agricultural commodities, namely cereals, beans and sugar.

Duany is also a co-founder of his family real estate business, the Duany Group, with property assets in the United States and South Sudan.