NBA

A perilous journey from African refugee camp to Nets hopeful

The last invitee to Nets camp, Nuni Omot, is a long shot to make the roster. But he’s beaten the odds before. Born in a Kenyan refugee camp to parents who had escaped civil war in Ethiopia, he figures he’s beaten them to even be alive.

“I’m not even supposed to be in this situation. I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t even think I’m supposed to be alive,” Omot told The Post. “But obviously God has done mysterious wonders with my family and just everything that’s happened. And I want to just continue to use this basketball as a pedestal to reach out and help.

“Being successful in basketball is obviously a big way that I can make an impact as far as helping out, going back and doing a bunch of stuff. I want to help out with everything — school supplies, clothes. I want to be able to go back one day and do camps every single summer. That’s something I really look forward to doing if I stay and get the opportunity to play here.”

Omot, 24, earned the opportunity to try. A wiry 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-1 wingspan, he shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range for Baylor, fifth in the Big 12. And his 48.1 percent in league play was the best in the conference.

The Nets — who play the Raptors on Wednesday in Montreal — have 20 players in camp and must get down to 15 (plus a pair of two-ways) by Monday. But with their need for shooting and penchant for player development, the Nets are a great fit to try to mold a raw rookie, be it in Brooklyn or with G-League Long Island.

“Honestly, I couldn’t be at a better place,” Omot said. “They do a great job of developing their players. In Long Island, they’ve had a lot of success with players, and obviously I’m fortunate and blessed to be here. It’s all just so much because of everything I’ve been through, my journey. Just to be able to be here at this level and to play with this organization is just a blessing in itself.”

The Omot journey actually predates him. It started 25 years ago, when his family fled Ethiopia to escape a civil war that killed 1.4 million people, including some on both sides of his family. Omot’s mother, Pillow, and father, Kwot, took his brother Aba — just a toddler — and made the arduous 400-mile sojourn to Kenya, most of it on foot and the majority under cover of darkness — such was the danger.

Nuni Omot (left) as a youngster with mom Pillow and brother Aba.Omot family

The plan had been to get visas to the U.S. and join family in Sioux Falls, S.D. But they ended up spending three long years in the refugee camp, where disease, hunger and poverty made a dangerous mix.

“Tough times there. We don’t have food, no clean water. It was like a desert area,” Pillow told The Post. “There was no water, but then when it rained there was flooding. There was no money at that time. There were big tents with a lot of people in them. There was disease.

“I had to find work to support my family, but it was hard. … They gave you food for a month, but it doesn’t last. It was gone in about a week.”

That’s where Omot was born in 1994.

Two years later, Pillow, Nuni and Aba were permitted to come to the U.S., emigrating to Minnesota. But Kwot had to stay behind for medical reasons. He didn’t reach the U.S. until Nuni was at Baylor, with Pillow carrying the financial burden.

“She’s been through more than the average human,” Nuni said. “That’s why I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and I want to continue to work.”

That hunger has helped him make up ground after a late start in basketball. He didn’t start playing organized ball until he was a sophomore at Mahtomedi High School in Minnesota. He didn’t play varsity until his senior year, didn’t get a single Division I offer and ended up at nearby Division II Concordia University in St. Paul.

It was his rapid improvement there that convinced him he could play at a higher level. He transferred to JUCO power Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College to chase that dream. But first, he had to convince Pillow.

“I knew he could go pro at that point [when he left Concordia]. I had to convince my mom that he wanted to go to a different [school],” Aba said. “He was close by at school at Concordia. But I had to convince her he was chasing his dream.”

With all that Pillow had seen, everything she’d pulled the family through, how could she not be nervous?

“Yeah, I was nervous. I didn’t want him to move somewhere else. I wanted to be around him,” she said. “It was hard. I left my family when I was young, I left the county in order to do something to help the family. … But I let him go.”

They’re fortunate she did, relenting with Aba at another nearby Iowa school to keep tabs. Omot earned a scholarship to Baylor. From an emotional reunion with Kwot to his rapid improvement with his 3-point shooting, Omot’s season and a half there was a success.

Omot landed a camp invite. He doesn’t have the lateral movement of a wing, the girth of a center, the handle of a guard or the years of high-level experience to read plays as quickly as some others. But he has length, leaping ability and range. Oh, and a hunger to get better.

“He’s just learning the game. He’s just so innocent and hungry and enthusiastic,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “When you see a guy like Nuni walk in the gym with his work ethic and his room to improve, having good practices for us, I think it’s neat. I’ve really enjoyed being around him.”

Will Omot still be around opening night? Long shot. But he’s beaten the odds before.


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