Deng Mu’s journey in becoming a member of the Brentwood boys basketball team was a long one.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward is originally from South Sudan. He came to the United States from Uganda last August. The distance to Pittsburgh from Kampala, the capital and Uganda’s largest city, is 7,382 miles.
Mu found a home at his uncle and family’s house in Brentwood, making him eligible to compete for the Spartans in 2025-26.
“Deng had a solid season,” Brentwood coach Dan Thayer said. “He improved on a daily basis and became a dominant defender around the basket and a great rebounder. Deng also started to develop his offensive skills, working primarily in the low post.
“Deng made some amazing improvements during the season. Early on, he had some very good games but also struggled in some areas. As we got later in the season, Deng had nights where he dominated play on both ends of the court. He still has a long way to go to become a total player, but you could see glimpses of how good he could be.”
The tall front-court player with the slender frame — Mu weighs 180 pounds — was instrumental in leading Brentwood into the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs.
The Spartans finished fourth in Section 2-2A with a 7-5 record, were 1-1 in the postseason and ended up 13-11 overall.
After a slow start in 2025-26, Brentwood won six consecutive games and tacked on a four-game winning streak in the season’s home stretch.
The No. 16-seed Spartans defeated No. 17 Beth-Center, 58-41, in the WPIAL preliminary round and lost to No. 1 Jeannette, 70-49, in the first round.
“I grew up in Uganda, a country in East Africa, and I played mainly soccer while growing up,” said Mu, who is 18. “This was my first season playing basketball. I never played any kind of organized basketball prior to this year.
“I think we did really good as a team. We struggled a bit at the start of the season but managed to pick ourselves up as the season went on.”
Mu attended high school at Trinity Senior Academy in Uganda for three years. His family settled in New Jersey after traveling from East Africa.
“My dad actually moved to the U.S. in the early ‘90s, settled in New Jersey and that’s where my siblings were born and grew up,” Mu said. ”And as for me, l was born in Africa and grew up there before relocating to the U.S last year to join my family.
“Growing up in Uganda was really interesting. It’s much warmer there and the country is highly influenced by the British. There are lots of lakes and diverse wildlife.”
Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda and to the south by Tanzania.
As it turned out, Mu had a connection in Brentwood.
“My dad didn’t want me going to school in New Jersey,” Mu said, “so he decided to send me to Brentwood to live with my uncle for my senior year. It’s been really great studying at Brentwood High School. A small school like Brentwood really gives you that sense of belonging and a deeper connection with other students.”
Mu averaged 18 points, 17.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game for the Spartans in his initial season of organized basketball.
“Deng was an absolute joy to coach,” Thayer said. “He has a terrific personality, is a total team guy, is extremely bright and has an incredible work ethic.
“He is the kind of player you wish you could coach forever. I believe great things are still ahead for Deng, and I look forward to watching him grow as a player and a man.”
Athleticism runs in the Mu family.
His half-sister Athing Mu-Nikolayev won the gold medal in the 800-meter run at the 2020 Olympics. She also was a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning 1,600-meter relay team in Tokyo.
Mu, who has cousins who also attend Brentwood, stood out against most opposing teams because of his height and athleticism.
“I have coached some players his size at other schools,” Thayer said, “but he is the tallest that I have had at Brentwood.
“As the season progressed, Deng really began to understand how to use that height and tremendous athletic ability. Because of that, Deng had a tremendous season.”
Mu aims to continue his fledgling basketball career in college next year.
“l plan to go to college to pursue a major while playing basketball,” he said. “I have not decided yet which college I am going to attend, but I am most likely going to a prep school for a year before going to college.”
Wu and Wyatt Wooten, a 5-10 senior guard/forward, were the only seniors on the Brentwood squad in 2025-26.
Juniors Xh’avier Nunez (G), Orlando Johnson (G/F) and Mike Satler (G/F), along with freshman guard Griffin Betz, saw playing time in all 24 games.
Sophomore forward Andrew Schmidt, freshman guard Mario Garcia and sophomore G/F Tyler McDonald also competed in a majority of the Spartans’ games.
That’s seven hoopsters with varsity experience who will be returning for next season, along with freshman prospects Brycin Funk (G), Adriano Pasquarelli (G) and Kaden Feeney. (F).
“It is going to be a different team with the graduation of Deng,” Thayer said. “We have a solid core of players returning from last year and hope to add on a good group of incoming freshmen.
“It is hard to tell how we will be, since we don’t even know who will be in our section next year. During this offseason, it is a must that we become a better shooting team, and that we find a way to make up for the rebounding we are losing with Deng’s graduation.”
Johnson and Satler, both 6-2, were the next tallest players for the Spartans in 2025-26.
Nunez was Brentwood’s second-leading scorer with a 16.8 ppg average. He led the team in 3-point field goals (26), assists (67), steals (61) and free-throw shooting, making 104 of 136 or 76.5%.
Nunez also grabbed 78 rebounds to finish as the team’s third-leading rebounder behind Mu (416) and Johnson (96).
Mu pulled down 165 offensive and 251 defensive rebounds and is playing AAU basketball this offseason.
“I would like to thank everyone … for sharing my story,” Mu said. “I really appreciate the support and platform you gave me.”