Bulls Visit to London Would Be Good for Deng, British Basketball

By MAGGIE HENDRICKS

Updated 7:54 PM CST, Sun, Nov 30, 2008

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The Bulls are looking into playing some exhibition games in London next year. I can't think of a better reason to take a trip to England then to see the Bulls running around London. You just know that Joakim Noah will make it his life's mission to make the guards at Buckingham Palace laugh.

The visit would not just be good for the Bulls, it would be a shot in the arm for London's burgeoning basketball scene. The Bulls' own Luol Deng is a major part of Great Britain trying to qualify for the Olympics in 2012. His family fled to London from the Sudan and he is proud to call it home.

An active member of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders, Deng has played hoops all over the world and is now working to build up the British basketball team. He has contacted every basketball player he knows from England and asked them to play for the British team. He even found that his own teammate, Ben Gordon, is British-born. He has talked Gordon into thinking about playing for Team Great Britain. Or, as Deng said it, "BG wants to play for GB."

A visit from an internationally known team like the Bulls could get the country excited about basketball at the exact time it is needed. NBA basketball could be used to raise money and awareness for the British national team. Not to mention, if Deng persuades his teammates, you can bet that everyone on the Bulls will be glad to help with camps and appearances all over England.

Manute Bol introduced the game of basketball to Deng, and has clearly passed on an activist spirit to his protege. Now, Deng feels as if he should use that activism to give back to the country that adopted him and his family, Great Britain.