Mabor Majak developed into a strong leader for the Royals

By RICHIE HALL
It would be difficult to find a high school basketball player in Indiana who has had a more amazing journey than Hamilton Southeastern’s Mabor Majak.
Majak came to Indiana from South Sudan five years ago, a tall kid walking into a brand-new culture and a state with a well-known obsession for basketball. Five years later, Majak is a two-time Indiana All-Star and will soon be a Division I player for Cleveland State University.
“I think it’s something special,” said Majak. “I’ve been so surrounded by really incredible people that pushed me to be better every day, including Michael, my guardian.”
Majak also credits his teachers, who he called “really supportive” and the entire Southeastern community as well.
“They helped me strive to be better every day,” said Majak. “That’s part of what helped me to where I’m at today.”
After coming to Indiana, Majak settled in at Fall Creek Junior High School, where he was an eighth-grader during the 2015-16 school year. While Majak showed an interest in basketball, he had some work to do physically, especially when it came to his weight. When he came to Indiana, Majak weighed “around 167 pounds,” he said, while “standing at like 6-10.”
“You could tell in junior high he was raw, just trying to get things figured out,” said Royals head basketball coach Brian Satterfield.
“I was fast when I first got here, but I wasn’t strong enough,” said Majak.
“I think everybody assumed that they see a kid who’s seven feet tall and assume he can play,” said Michael Fox, Majak’s guardian. Not only that, but Majak also had to answer questions about how tall he was. (For the record, he now stands 7-foot-2.)
“He’s always handled that with a smile on his face and been kind, especially to kids,” said Fox. “But I think that does wear on him a little bit, from a basketball standpoint – plug the 7-footer in and let him play.”
Still, Majak wanted to play. “It was something new and I was excited,” he said. “I overlooked everything that could have been a negative thought when I started.”
One of the first things Majak did was begin to put on weight. His plan to do so was simple: “I ate a lot,” he said.
“Before coming here, I didn’t eat that much,” said Majak. “Being in a secure environment like Fishers, there’s really nothing to worry about. And when you have no worries, it’s easy to gain weight and get stronger.” Majak continued to get stronger, and now weighs 230 pounds.
Majak played mainly junior varsity in his freshman season, although he did get into a few varsity games during that year. He then became a full-time varsity player beginning with his sophomore season. All the while, Majak continued to put in the work to get better, and got some help from Lonnie Jones, a fellow 7-footer who played at Ball State. Fox called Jones a “great mentor” to Majak.
Majak continued to get stronger and faster, to the point where his speed became an asset to the team.
“You don’t see too many 7-footers in high school being able to run a sub 5:30 mile,” said Satterfield. The coach said a requirement for Royals players is to run the mile in a certain time. The guards get one time, while the big guys get 15 or 30 seconds added to that time.
“He had no issues with that and he was always running with the majority of the guards,” said Satterfield.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, Majak made solid progress. He averaged 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore, then 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds in his junior year. Majak also established himself as a solid shot blocker, with 1.5 blocks per game in his sophomore season and 1.2 as a junior. He was named an Indiana Junior All-Star at the end of that season.
“I’ve worked on all aspects of the game,” he said. “I did a lot of ball-handling in the off-season.”
Majak stayed in the low post, though, as he knew that’s what would benefit the team. He is capable of playing an outside game – in fact, he made a 3-pointer last season. But, he noted, “When you’re 7-foot-2 in high school and the guy guarding you is 6-5, there’s no point in shooting a 3 when you could easily catch the ball and shoot over them.”
Majak then had a spectacular senior year. He averaged 11.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, making him the only Hamilton County player to average a double-double for the season. Majak also was far and away the leader in blocked shots, with 2.6 per game.
“This past year, he along with our other guys always did a great job of the leadership standpoint,” said Satterfield. “He’s always out there working hard, doing things the right way, leading by example and trying to help with the team chemistry.”
“I became a leader as the years went by,” said Majak. “Just making sure I’m uplifting the player next to me and all that, and also listening to the coaches and leading by example.”
Majak was rewarded for his season by being named as an Indiana All-Star at the end of the season. He would’ve gotten to play in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star game, but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In terms of my playing, for the most part I’m happy with the way I played,” said Majak. “There’s always going to be regret about certain aspects, but I loved the guys that I played with. They put their heart out on the court and that’s what I love about this last season.”
So, it’s off to Cleveland State for Majak. The Vikings are a Division I team that plays in the Horizon League. Majak had several conversations with Cleveland State’s head coach, Dennis Gates, and said the Vikings recruited him hard. Majak is one of six players that signed with Cleveland State, and that class is ranked by Rivals.com as the top class in the Horizon League.
“One of the things that I’ve always preached about is having a relationship with the coaching staff and making sure you have the right fit,” said Fox. “I just think Mabor built a relationship with Coach Gates and his staff. He was a guy they were going to build around.”
“And their staff is really into big men,” said Majak. “They have really shown that they could really develop me into a good player and a leader. That’s exactly what I was looking for in a coach and a program.”