Wenyen Gabriel

Gabriel (32) at the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic

Gabriel attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Wilbraham, Massachusetts since 2014.[1] Prior to that, he played at Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire for three years.[2] As a senior in 2015-16, he averaged 22.0 points per game, 14.0 rebounds per game, 7.0 blocks per game and 6.3 assists per game. In October 2015, he announced his decision to enroll at the University of Kentucky. Maryland, Duke, UConn and Providence were other schools on his shortlist.[3] He played 19:17 minutes in the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, scoring two points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists.[4] He also played in the 2016 Jordan Brand Classic. Gabriel was rated as a five-star recruit and ranked #14 in the Class of 2016 by ESPN.

He made his debut for the UK Wildcats in an exhibition game on 31 October 2016 against Clarion University, tallying nine points, two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes coming off the bench.[5] As a freshman, he played in 38 games, including 23 starts, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.[6] During his sophomore year, Gabriel became more of a key figure for Kentucky's success that season, tallying 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 37 games. He led UK with 40 blocked shots.[7]

Gabriel was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on 26 March 1997.[17] Because his sister – born a year earlier – had died in infancy, Gabriel was given the name "Wenyen", which means "wipe your tears" in his native Dinka language.[17] Two weeks after he was born, Gabriel's mother, Rebecca Gak, moved with him and his three siblings to Cairo, Egypt to escape the violence of the Second Sudanese Civil War.[17] While Gabriel's mother worked to earn enough money to move his father, Makuac, to Cairo, his seven-year-old brother, Komot, became Gabriel's primary care giver.[17][18] Two years after moving to Egypt, the United Nations granted an appeal to move the refugee family to Manchester, New Hampshire, an American city with a large South Sudanese population.[17]

Gabriel received a US passport in 2015[19] and represented the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit. He considers South Sudan his rightful home country.[20]

• nbadraft.net profile
• Draft Express profile
• ESPN profile
• Kentucky Wildcats bio
• Official Website