At each year’s Final Four, the building where the games will be played hangs a giant banner reading “The Road Ends Here.”
The college basketball season, and especially March Madness, are often referred to as “The road to the Final Four” and, for some players, that path can double back to where it all started.
“I went to school probably like an hour away,” said Norfolk State senior forward Kuluel Mading. “So just to be back in North Carolina for the last time. You know, it just feels like everything came full circle. Things started here, and, hopefully, they don’t finish here, but, you know, but that’s the plan.”
Mading’s journey began even before he was born. His family fled the civil war that eventually produced the nation of South Sudan back in 1999, before he was born. While he’s a North Carolina-born native of High Point, he still feels a connection to his familiar roots.
“The whole South Sudan, South Sudanese community, is crazy,” he said. “Just watching how much it has grown in the past five, six years. At first, it was like local, like I didn’t really know that many people, but now, seeing it grow worldwide, even in the in the Olympics, we were in a close game with USA. So just seeing it grow has been amazing. I love to see the growth. I feel like we’ve got a lot that we can bring to the table, and we’re not done yet. It’s crazy watching it.”
Mading played in N.C. in high school at The Burlington School winning a state title. Now, he returns with Norfolk State to face the top seed in the West Region, Florida, in Friday’s opening round games in Raleigh.
“My junior year, we were runner ups in the state championship, and then my senior year, we won,” he said. “It’s kind of the same thing here. In my junior year, we lost in the MEAC semifinals, and then senior year we won it. So, I feel like everything that I did at Burlington, and the coaches, the players, they have prepared me for this moment. I’m most definitely not going to take it for granted.”
Duke, which features South Sudan native Khaman Maluach, is also opening the tournament in Raleigh.
“I haven’t talked to him yet,” Mading said, “but we’ve been exchanging texts.”
Mading has another connection to the Blue Devils—he initially committed to play in college at Howard, under coach Kenny Blakeney. He ended up changing his mind and instead leaving for the Buffalo Bulls and the MAC Conference.
“Yeah, it’s been a wild journey,” Mading said. “Leaving North Carolina go to Buffalo, which is like, super cold up there, so it’s mad different.”
He played sparingly for the Bulls over two seasons, but while he was there, he lost his father, Charles, who died at age 47 in January of 2023. Following that basketball season, Mading decided to move closer to home, transferring to Norfolk State.
“Coming closer to home in Virginia, it’s been a long journey,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries, close deaths in the family. But I feel like, especially for my dad, I feel like he’s still living through me. Even though he’s not here with us physically, he’s always here in spirit.”
Mading returned to his hometown in December, when Norfolk State got a 77-74 win over High Point University. He estimated that there were about 50 friends and family members in the stands for that game.
“I know tickets are probably harder to get, because it’s so many games going on (in Raleigh),” he said. “So, I’ll probably have like 20-30 people.”
He’ll also be playing on a stage he’s been watching since his childhood.
“I grew up watching Coach K, Roy Williams, when I was young,” he said. “So, it’s crazy. Like, even to play at NC State, in the arena I grew up coming to games, watching them. I mean, they’re basketball players, just like me. So I’m most definitely taking it on. I’m not scared or anything, but it’s most definitely nostalgic.”
And it’s the conclusion of a long and winding road, which plenty of people lining the shoulder, watching.
“I feel like I have that obligation to put on for the family and make everybody proud that they’re here in North Carolina and Omaha or back home in South Sudan,” he said. “The journey’s been a lot of trials and tribulations, but I’ve got a good group of guys right here. They’ve been keeping me strong the last two years, and it’s the culmination of it all, really.”
