The award recognizes the exceptional contributions and professional excellence of an alumnus who has made a significant impact in the sports industry and who has participated in an activity that benefits the community. Solomon, now an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets’ G-League team, served as an assistant coach for the South Sudanese team for three years as they worked their way up to the Olympic stage.
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Bill Cartwright and Fortune Solomon
“Fortune received multiple nominations and was selected by Advisory Board members for this prestigious honor,” said Bill Fusco (’95), chair of the Sport Management Alumni Advisory Board. “His outstanding work as part of the South Sudan Olympic Mens’ Basketball team coaching staff led to an improbable run at the 2024 Olympics in Paris as the only country representing the continent of Africa.”
This summer, the South Sudan team captured hearts worldwide with its remarkable and inspiring underdog story. South Sudan is the youngest country in the world – it gained its independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of a brutal civil war – and the country has continued to suffer from bloodshed and instability. Millions of people have fled over the years.
The South Sudan team is made up almost exclusively of refugees and children of refugees, scattered across the globe. The country has no indoor basketball facilities. Yet with grit, determination, and focused coaching, the team represented the young country in its first-ever Olympic appearance.
During an exhibition game this summer, the team lost to the United States’ superstar team by just one point. And in the Olympics itself, South Sudan stunned Puerto Rico for their first Olympic victory.
“I could tell when I first met the team that this was more than basketball. They were playing for something bigger,” Solomon said. “I sensed such an eagerness to learn, such a passion for the game and for their country. This team was a bright light for the country and the players were playing not only for their families but playing to have their country recognized for something positive.”
The love the South Sudanese fans have for the team, Solomon said, is just as intense and is wrapped up with pride in their young country. He recalled standing next to a South Sudanese man in an elevator in the middle of Indiana; the man noticed Solomon’s South Sudan bracelet and recognized him. He immediately started hugging Solomon and thanking him for his work.
“Things like that make you want to go harder,” Solomon said. “You don’t want to let anyone down.”
Solomon, whose parents emigrated from Nigeria, previously worked with the Nigerian Senior Men’s National Team as they worked toward the Olympics. Since his childhood, Solomon has been drawn to the idea of representing Africa in some way to connect with his roots and represent his parents’ native continent.
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In addition to his international experience, Solomon has a range of domestic coaching experiences. The Hayward native has coached with the 905 Raptors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, and with the South Bay Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA G League team. Before his time with the Lakers, Solomon was part of the Oklahoma City Thunder as a player development analyst.
It’s there that he first met NBA veteran Royal Ivey, then an assistant coach with the Thunder. The two became fast friends and stayed in touch over the years. Ivey took on the South Sudan head coaching position at the request of former two-time NBA All Star Luol Deng, who took over as president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation. Ivey then tapped Solomon to be his top assistant coach.
Solomon began his sports career as an intern with the Bakersfield Jam (formerly NBA D League), writing player evaluations for the assistant general manager and director of scouting. He later worked as head video coordinator for the men’s basketball team at California State University, Bakersfield, as a graduate assistant for USF’s men’s basketball program, and as a recruiting assistant for the Stanford men’s basketball team while a student at USF.
Solomon credits USF with helping his career in two distinct ways. First, he said, is the emphasis on having a gameplan. Professors encouraged students to not keep their goals only in their minds, but to instead write them out, something Solomon had never done.
Yet he continues that to this day, writing out his goals and hanging them on his wall. “I read them every day before I leave the house. It keeps me grounded and focused on the bigger picture. They are my ‘why,’” he said.
Additionally, he said, USF taught him that “it all ties together.” It’s a concept that Solomon sees play out daily, regardless of where he’s currently located.
“My journey has only been meaningful because of the relationships I’ve made along the way,” Solomon said. “My career has taken me all over the world. I’ve been to 15 countries in three years and I can tell you that the people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had, it all connects, whether it be quickly or down the road. It all started at USF with my classmates and professors.”
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