Forest Hills Northern’s 6-foot-8 junior could blossom into a star
Forest Hills Northern junior Joey Angok passes the ball during a Fall League game in September 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Joey Angok was dunking a basketball when he was a skinny, 6-footer as an eighth grader.
But the Forest Hills Northern junior didn’t play at all his freshman year and was on junior varsity last year. So If his name doesn’t ring a bell, there’s a reason for that. He hasn’t done anything yet.
“As a freshmen, there was a lot of question marks,” FH Northern coach Joe Soules said. “He didn’t play as a freshman. There were a lot of coaches and people in the area that looked at me and said ‘how can you have this talent and not play him?’ And I said ‘there’s more to life than just basketball. You have to be able to do all the other things that come with it.’ He wasn’t getting there yet. But he’s grown up and he’s matured.”
Angok is still pretty skinny, but he’s 6-foot-8, 184 pounds now and has blossomed into one of more talented players in West Michigan seemingly overnight.
Now he’s hoping to prove it on varsity for the Huskies.
“I just wasn’t able to physically handle varsity,” Angok said. “I feel like my skillset was there but my body wasn’t there. Last year I was way skinnier. I was 40 pounds lighter. Just the physicality and the speed … I wasn’t able to keep up.”
Since last season, he gained weight, worked hard in the gym, gained skill and played for the DTO Elite travel team out of Detroit.
“I just worked a lot over the offseason to gain muscle and confidence,” Angok said. “I thought I outworked everybody. I think I’m more coachable now.”
Joey Angok, who stands 6-foot-8, shoots a 3-pointer ball during a Fall League game in September 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
He doesn’t have any offers yet, but playing for DTO Elite got him in front of college coaches.
“It was really good,” Angok said. “I got to play on the UA Rise circuit and I got my name out there. In the summer, I got looks from Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern, Toledo … the list goes on.”
He had an unofficial visit to Ferris State University with teammate Kyle Brown last month.
Joey, the youngest of five kids, is the son of Awan and Lucia Angok, who moved to the United States from war-torn South Sudan.
“I was the only one born here. I was born in Grand Rapids,” Joey said. “It was a war going on there so they wanted to give (my siblings) a better life.”
His sister, Ruby Angok, was a basketball player, too. She was a 6-foot-3 post player at West Michigan Lutheran and East Grand Rapids, before playing collegiately at three schools, including Texas Southern, a Division I program.
“She’s been a motivator, and my number-one supporter,” Joey said. “I mean, my whole family has been supportive. But she’s what pushes me every day. I want to be more like her and play Division I basketball and represent my last name and my family in a good way.”
Angok said he started playing basketball at age 3 or 4, but got better in middle school.
“In eighth grade is when I thought I was getting good,” he said. “I was starting to standout to people.”
That’s also when he started dunking, which is a big deal for any boy.
“It was just messing around,” he said. “I was 6-foot, so I was just trying it out for two months and I finally got one.”
His first dunk in a game was during summer ball.
“Freshman year during the AAU season when I was with MBA 15U,” Angok said. “It was at the Wes Leonard Classic (at Byron Center).”
Forest Hills Northern junior Joey Angok towers over a defender during a Fall League game in September 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Soules has seen Angok mature.
“He’s a young man. He’s a teenager,” Soules said. “He’s grown mentally and physically. He loves the game. His maturity in the classroom is the biggest jump we’ve seen, though. That’s translated to the basketball court. Over the summer, he committed to playing travel basketball, playing with us in the June camps. This fall he’s been a real leader. I don’t think he’s realized how good he can be.”
Angok said he gets mostly A’s and B’s in the classroom.
“I like English (class),” he said. “I love to write. My least favorite class is math, for sure.”
On the court, Angok has a smooth shot from 3-point range and a pretty good mid-range jumper. He’s solid in the post, although it’s not his favorite place to be. Sometimes he drives to the lane and should probably dunk the ball, but settles for a layup. Angok said he really wants to work on his defense.
“I think I’m pretty solid,” he said. “Not where I want to be. I feel like I should be able to guard smaller guards. Like right now, I feel like I’m OK guarding guys my height. But I want to be more versatile.”
Soules said the sky is the limit for Angok. And he’s not about to limit his player.
“Everyone has said ‘oh, he just wants to be out on the wing,’ Soules said. “Everyone wants to shoot threes. And that’s where he’s most comfortable. And we never said ‘hey, you have to be down in the post because you’re tall.’ We said ‘you need to become a basketball player; learn to handle the ball.’ And he’s done that. Learn to get some easy (points) in the paint.”
Forest Hills Northern begins its season on Saturday, Dec. 2 against Rockford at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
