How Omaha Biliew’s Basketball Journey to the NBA is Changing More Than One Life

The story of the son of a first generation Sudanese refugee and a 25-year-old blue collar worker changing each other's lives on a path to the NBA.

You will often hear athletes speaking in hyperbole about how basketball, or another sport, has changed their life. There is no exaggeration when you ask Omaha Biliew if basketball not only changed his life, but saved it.

“No, that's exactly well put,” Biliew agreed in an exclusive interview with Draft Digest.

Biliew is a familiar name in Iowa and on the national stage. He is a top 10 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, a McDonald’s All-American, and has played twice in the Nike Hoop Summit. He is committed to Iowa State and will most likely be a one-and-done lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

These are all things that are known. The real story behind Biliew - his family, his journey, and the man that put his life on hold to help him along the way - is not.

Omaha Biliew, named after the city in which he was born and lived for five years, is the son of a South Sudanese refugee, Nantut Luoy. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the total number of South Sudanese refugees has now passed two million and is the largest refugee crisis in Africa. After Syria and Afghanistan, it is the third largest refugee crisis in the world.

The reason for fleeing South Sudan revolves around what is described by the UN Refugee Agency as “a complex and dangerous situation of armed conflict, economic decline, disease and hunger.”

While the situation in the United States was better for his family, Biliew still grew up in a full house with five brothers and two sisters in conditions that were more than difficult and an environment that was hard to overcome. It wasn’t easy growing up in Omaha.

“My family especially, we didn't have a leader or role model,” Biliew said, “Everything was based off read and react. My brothers didn't have the opportunities I had, so they fell into the environment they were in. Coming from Omaha, Nebraska wasn't a great spot, a lot of gang activity, that's all my brothers knew and all we were around.”

Biliew’s father had moved back to South Sudan and his mother did everything she could. But with no education she was forced to bounce from different jobs at meat companies.

Unfortunately, Biliew watched as his brothers got led off track with no leader in the household. His mother tried to move them to Denison, Iowa to get them away, but they were still unable to find a positive footing, eventually leading them down a path that Biliew did not want to follow.

One of his brothers would end up in jail and Biliew was living in a home without television, internet, and at times other necessities we take for granted. Because of this, he would spend much of his time outside the house.

Biliew says he was an adventurous kid who loved to be outside, and spent his days in Denison going to the park to play basketball, where he fell in love with the game and found his competitiveness.

At an age where many kids' biggest decisions rest with whether to turn in their homework or talk to their crush, the 13-year-old Biliew was about to make a life changing decision that would be difficult for most adults.

“I didn't want to end up in the same situations as my brothers and I wanted to change the narrative of our family in a positive way,” he said. “Our last name, people telling my mom her kids are going to end up bad one day. And I wanted to make a change in the family, I didn’t wanna end up like that. That's why I chose basketball, and why I chose something to do positively and impact people.”

Still in junior high, Biliew realized to accomplish this he needed to get out of Denison, but what would that look like?

Insert Tyler Sass.

Sass and Biliew first met when Biliew’s cousin, Ruot Bijiek (currently playing for Bucknell), talked Sass into picking Biliew up for one of their AAU tournaments. Eventually, Sass got tired of having to drive Biliew back home to Denison after tournaments, and while Bijek’s family lived just a mile down the road from Sass, they had a full house of their own with six kids.

(Left to Right) - Tyler Sass, Rout Bijiek, Omaha Biliew

Sass built a relationship with Biliew’s mother. That, combined with the relationship he had with Bijek’s family, and the close location, led to the simple solution of Biliew staying with Sass.

Little did either know that this decision would result in a life changing relationship for each of them.

“Omaha started staying with me and kind of never left,” said Sass.

As you might imagine, Biliew’s mother was not a fan of the decision initially.

“To Omaha’s mom, basketball is just a game. To her, it was just something you do for fun. She didn’t understand why he wanted to put so much into this,” Sass recollected.

Even with the pushback from his mother, Biliew made his decision and moved in with Sass to pursue a basketball career and change the course of his life.

At this point Sass was 25 and working at Wolfe Eye Clinic and coaching AAU in his free time. He had no idea how much his life was about to change.

“I didn’t know what I was doing when he moved in. I had this 13 year old kid living with me and all of a sudden I’m driving him to school and cooking dinner every night on top of work and training him. I had to sacrifice a lot not only in my personal life but professionally to try and juggle basketball and work and a full time job, it was a balancing act at first. When you’re living it you really don’t realize what’s going on, you just take it day by day and try to stack good days. We’ve been around each other so much over the past five years the only times I really process everything that’s happened is when we are apart.” 

Sass was also concerned about the perception of being a young white man raising an up-and-coming black basketball player.

“Being the young white guy with the five-star black kid….at first the whole situation was pretty awkward going to parent meetings and attending games. Being a young white guy who represents Omaha my credibility was questioned a lot. High level high school basketball is a very competitive space, everyone is trying to get to the top and if you make it there’s life changing money involved. The preconceived notion of the white handler and black athlete trying to make money was pretty loud since we started but something I never really paid attention to. I understand the whole black/white thing but basketball is 10 percent of our day, we still have to go home and live our regular lives just like everyone else after the games and tournaments.” 

The bond being formed between Sass and Biliew was much stronger, natural and built out of purer intentions than ever could come from someone simply trying to ride the coattails of top tier athletes. Besides, Biliew was far from a sure thing at this point in his career.

(Left to Right) - Omaha Biliew and Tyler Sass

“What makes it so organic and different is how it started. He didn’t know I was going to be me, I wasn't a 7-foot demigod in Denison, I was 6-foot-4, skinny and scrawny, and probably smelled bad. I wasn't all that at that age and he didn’t know what to expect from me,” explained Biliew.

“The narrative definitely motivated me,” Sass added. “There’s plenty of things people don’t see. Five years ago I was running up a credit card to buy him some new shoes for his first day of school. I wasn’t really thinking about the NBA when he was 13, it was more of how am I going to make this work. I really took it day by day. It took some time for us to get a routine and figure one another out, and once we did he really took off and started excelling. We were really able to lock in on the development, weights, and nutrition during COVID and he really solidified himself nationally after that. Off the court my goal was for Omaha to lead his family and to be himself so the world can see how he really is off the basketball court. He’s the type of person that has contagious energy, someone that makes you feel better about yourself after talking to him. One of the most humble, down to earth, egoless people in the world, especially for how talented he is. I’m really proud of who he has become and how carries himself, it means alot to me.”

Part of the bond and connection made between Sass and Biliew comes from Sass being able to empathize with not having a father as strongly present in his own life.

“The stuff Omaha was talking about, going to the park to play, that was me growing up and just like him my dad wasn’t around too much. He lived in Illinois and I was in Des Moines with my mom and sister, so we didn’t spend much time on the court together…..With Omaha I tried to be at every game and we’ve spent so much time in the gym together it’s turned into our sanctuary. Some of our best conversations have happened after a workout when we can just sit down and talk through life for hours.”

It wasn’t easy for Biliew to leave his mother and siblings, but he said it was just something he had to normalize. It forced him to mature and grow up fast.

“I am a little kid telling my mom at 13 that I am moving to pursue basketball,” the Iowa State commit remembered. “I thank God for everything that has happened, and I had the courage to tell my mom I had to leave for the betterment of everything. I thank God about that.”

It was the hardest decision he had ever made, but it only grew his love and passion for the game and what it took to be great.

As hard as the decision was, it immediately started to pay off. Sass put together a mixtape of Biliew during their summer AAU travels and sent it to anyone he could on Instagram. It caught the attention of Ty Kish of MSHTV and got Biliew his first big exposure invitation for Kish’s basketball camp in Indiana.

Biliew would continue to grow, develop, and win an Iowa State Championship during his sophomore season, playing alongside Pryce and Payton Sandfort and Tucker DeVries. Following the end of his sophomore season, Biliew and Sass decided to try something that would challenge Biliew even more and put him on the national scene.

Biliew enrolled at Link Academy in Branson, MO where the level of basketball and teaching was beyond anything he had experienced. He felt like he was in college, and he once again found himself in a situation that was asking him to grow up, being five hours away from home.

They both emphasized how great of an experience this was for Biliew, with Sass highlighting, “Omaha, from the day he got to Link to the day he left, was a better human, basketball player and all around better person. (Adam) Donyes is a big part of running a great program, doing a great thing, and doing it for the right reason. We had a great experience. Dillon Buchanan is great, Jordan Grant, post grad coach, is great.”

But there was one person that really left a mark on Biliew’s one year at Link Academy, Rodney Perry.

(Left to Right) - Tyler Sass, Omaha Biliew, Rodney Perry

“He was like a father to all of us,” Biliew said of Perry. “He led us. All the lessons we learned through practices. He had a lot of teaching points, brought us in and prepared us for what was coming next. Didn’t care what basketball brought to us. He wanted us to be great people at the end of the day.”

It was the discipline that Perry instilled, and demanded, that stood out the most. This came on and off the court, as Coach Perry very well might walk into your room and demand to check your bed was made the way he had asked, “crispy clean, perfect.”

Sass sums up Coach Perry’s impact on Biliew the best.

“He has done more for Omaha's basketball career than anyone, more than me. He taught him things I didn't know, details I didn’t know.”

While the pair had nothing but good things to say about Link and Biliew’s time there, they did make the decision for him to return to Iowa for his senior season. This season, and Biliews high school career, concluded with many of the aforementioned accolades that included Iowa’s first McDonald’s All-American since 2012.

This was an honor that Biliew did not take lightly, “I mean, man, that's McDonalds. As a high school player that's what you want to get to. Where I started and came from and where I got to during my high school career. Hard work, cliche as it sounds, that's all you need with passion and need to be resilient. I thought about everyone that played a part in me getting to that point.”

Biliew’s decision to attend Iowa State University next fall came down to one thing, relationships.

Biliew had offers from the likes of Kansas, Oregon, and even a very lucrative offer from the G League Ignite that would have paid him a lot of money to forgo his senior year of high school and freshman year of college, but he didn’t bite.

Sass knew early on that Iowa State and Head Coach, T.J. Otzelberger had things locked up.

“People get caught up in the lights, the NIL money, all the extra stuff that really doesn't matter,” Sass said. “I saw how TJ and Omaha talked and connected. The second time we left ISU, we got in the car and I said you are going to ISU and he said…you aren't lying.”

Biliew said that Coach Otzleberger, and assistant coach JR Blount, were the only coaches who consistently texted him and talked to him about life on and off the court. The mentality they showed aligned perfectly with Biliew.

“The passion they have, they feel like they get no respect, the tenacity they bring to every practice, the underdog mentality. Come in to work every day with hunger and desire. Ain’t nothing sweet, we gonna grind it out the way it is,” Biliew said.

There is also the added benefit of staying close to home so his mother can attend his games. And make no mistake about it, Biliew’s mother is still the center of his world.

“My mom is my everything,” Biliew told Draft Digest. “I do everything for her, she is my true role model. Through every situation she was dealt, and still standing to this day, that will forever curate my passion for working and being resilient and developing a character. The way she carries herself with a smile on her face.”

Sass adds that Biliew’s mother had to play every role in the house with his father being gone. She did this while working 50 hours a week and not your normal nine to five, she was working the 3pm to 2am shift.

He also emphasizes how much of her personality he can see in Biliew.

“His mother is a very strong woman, a leader and a lot like Omaha,” Sass said. “He has a lot of her characteristics; outgoing, funny, laid back, likes to have fun and one of the hardest working women I've ever met in my life. And it has rubbed off on Omaha.”

The captivating thing about these relationships is that the person often deemed to help change a life, also experiences life changing results themselves. This is no different for Sass. In a unique way, they helped each other grow up and become men.

The relationship with Biliew, and now his entire family, has changed his whole perspective on life for Sass.

(Left to Right) - Tyler Sass, Nantut Luoy, Omaha Biliew, Rachel Biliew

“Before I met them I was living the bachelor's dream. I had bought my first townhome, drove a nice car, and had everything I thought I wanted. It didn’t take long to realize how much that stuff doesn’t matter, and the closer I got with his mom and family the more I was able to see the impact we were having on them in a positive way. The daily responsibility of having someone depend on me really gave me a reality check of how I was living before Omaha came into my life. My weekends went from social events with friends to cooking dinner for Omaha and workouts, it became a regular thing for us.” 

Changing lives on his way to the NBA just seems to be what Omaha is all about. He is already thinking of ways to continue to pay it forward. His long term goal is to provide and nurture for the people back in South Sudan. He wants to build infrastructure and services for them that we have here in the United States, like hospitals.

“I wanna reach out to as many people as possible and give back. Back at home, and in Omaha, because there is a South Sudanese population. Children in general that live in this environment,” Biliew told Draft Digest.

Starting this summer, Sass and Biliew will sponsor a group of Sudanese kids from Des Moines to come to their basketball camp, work on skills, and spend the day with Biliew. This is just one example of how the duo is planning on giving back to the community.

And if you aren’t familiar with Biliew’s skills on the court, he is a smooth and fluid athlete who is a nightmare in transition and on the offensive boards, but continues to grow and develop his half court game.

He can attack you off the dribble, and the jump shot is rounding into form, something he and Sass have worked very hard at, and Biliew has plenty of confidence in. When asked what move he would go to for a game winning shot, Biliew had an easy answer.

“Keep it as simple as possible, four low, make the defender think I'm going to drive, top of the key, between the legs, hesi, pull up,” said the future NBA prospect. “You aren’t guarding that, I'm too tall, jump high, not blocking my shot, you have to foul me, I can shoot.”

While Biliew can score the basketball, he also knows the game is about plus/minus and that also factors in stopping your opponent. As impactful as he is offensively, it's even greater on the defensive end of the court.

There just aren't very many high school players you will watch with better defensive acumen and motor at his age than Biliew.

The versatile, elite two-way Biliew will be a game changer on the court for the Cyclones this next season, and every person who has the pleasure of being around him will be better for it.

Whether it's the President of the university or the janitor that cleans the gym, Biliew will recognize your value.

“The janitor at the high school we have had a relationship with for a few years. See him every day. He's out there working, people don't see it. He's taking his time to provide for his family. I talk to him and I embrace it with him. That's why I keep working too, janitor mindset. Yeah you working, I am going to work with you,” said Biliew.

The story of Sass and Biliew is far from over. Biliew has all the tools to achieve everything he has set out for, including playing in the NBA, and Sass is the perfect person to be behind him, pushing him.

This is their story and there is no better way to end it (for now) then in their own words.

“It was and has been more than basketball,” said Sass of Biliew. “A lot of our decisions have been more than basketball. My goals for Omaha are to be a leader and someday have a family and be able to support his family. Being a well rounded individual, having good character, having a family, being a dad. Someone for South Sudanese kids to look up to. It's not just about me, Omaha, his family…it's about the whole demographic.”

Biliew would go on to echo similar sentiment about Sass’ impact on his life.

“He’s my big brother, we don't look the part, he’s white, but he’s my brother,” Biliew said. “I wouldn't be where I am today without him. That's cliche, but it's a fact. He brought me into his house. He's the only one that invested time into me. Sacrificed family and friends and the fun times in his mid twenties. I was 13 and there is nothing guaranteed at that age. He spends the most time in the gym with me. We reaped what we sowed. I wouldn’t be anywhere without him.”

Biliew’s mother is right, basketball is just a game. But sometimes it can be the path to something more - something bigger - something life changing.