Southwest Minnesota State’s Duwa Omot pulls up for a shot during a game this past college basketball season.

On March 15, Southwest Minnesota

State University’s Dunwa Omot

played the last game of his collegiate

basketball career as the Mustangs

took a close 69-62 loss to

Winona State in the opening round

of the DII NCAA Men’s Basketball

Tournament.

In the game, Omot scored 12 points by hitting four

of his five 3-point attempts, leading the team in 3-point

makes.

The game perhaps served as a microcosm of Omot’s

career, as the 2020 Minnesota Valley Lutheran High

School graduate and All-Journal Basketball Player of the

Year stands dotted around the SMSU men’s basketball record

books after an outstanding 3-point shooting career.

Omot finishes his career as a Mustang fifth alltime

in 3-point field goals made (215), 11th in 3-point

percentage (40.8%) and 10th in career free throw percentage

(82.3%), making his mark as one of the top

shooters in school history. Omot holds the record for

3-point field goal percentage in a season after shooting

an incredible 56.6% in the 2021-22 season and led his

team all four years he started in 3-pointers made, making

at least 51 each season. Omot also finishes eighth

in career scoring at SMSU with 1,422 points and is tied

for 11th in steals with 121.

Looking back at his career, Omot is happy to have

made an impact for the Mustangs.

“Coming into this program, you don’t really know

what to expect,” he said. “You don’t know how your

career is going to end or finish. But I was fortunate

enough to come in kind of right away and make my

mark. First as just a shooter, that’s what I had to do;

that was my main role, but throughout the years it

adjusted to being more of a primary ballhandler and

playmaker, then going back to shooter. But I just do

whatever I need to do for team success and I was fortunate

enough that my role would have an impact and

leave a pretty good career.”

Omot excelled in many of those roles, as he has earned

two All-NSIC Second Team selections in his career, once

after the 2022-23 season when he lead the team in scoring

with 16.6 points per game, and once this year.

“I do whatever,” Omot said. “Whatever it took

to win is my mindset playing. Whatever the coaches

and players need me to do, I’ll do. Adjusting roles

is a part of it. Playing basketball here for five years,

you’re going to get scouted by different coaches and

stuff that know your player personnel, your scouting,

your tendencies. By keeping them honest and switching

positions and putting different people in different

places, it’s how we found success in the past couple of

years. Using decoys and stuff like that to create different

matchups is something I accept. Role changes and

whatnot, as long as it involves the success for the program,

I’ll never complain.”

During his four years starting, SMSU had plenty

of team success, posting a 71-46 record with two DII

NCAA tournament appearances.

“Definitely over the years the team has been trending

upwards,” Omot said. “The team in my last two

years has made the NCAA tournament. I think it’s a

credit to guys around me. Everybody’s hungry and

willing and doing what it takes to get to that, and even

after I leave, I know that there’s a group behind me

that’s hungry to get back to the NCAA tournament, but

not just that, to make the Elite Eight or the Final Four

and win the chip. They’re going to get after it.”

Omot’s signature skill of shooting comes from honing

his abilities at all times.

“I think it’s just trusting your work,” he said. “Not

everybody sees what you do outside of practice when

you’re on your own. Just being consistent and putting

in work, and it always shows on the court. Different

coaches throughout the past have told me it all depends

on you, and you need to do what you need to do to

leave your mark and be the best at your role.”

Holding that single-season 3-point record is important

to Omot, who set the record in his redshirt freshman

season in his first full year playing.

“It’s been a great experience,” Omot said. “Just a

credit to my teammates around me. My role that year

was to kind of just be a catch-and-shooter with the

playmakers around me, and my job was to let it go

with confidence. The coaches and teammates instilled

confidence around me, and that created that success. It

was a pretty good shooting year, obviously.”

Omot’s impact has gone beyond the defensive end,

as his 121 career steals and 54 career blocks — 19th

all-time at SMSU, impressive for a guard — have

helped the team be the top defensive unit in the conference

for the past two years.

“I’d say I’m pretty versatile,” Omot said. “I try to take

the ball in the passing lanes, use quick hands. I’m not the

biggest or strongest by any means, but I’d say my hands I

use to my advantage. Just thinking ahead and anticipating

is one of the things I’ve always had. Defense leads to offense,

and that’s one of the staples of our program. Being

the number one defense in the conference is something

we pride ourselves in every day. In order to play, you’re

going to have to guard. That’s been why we’ve been successful

the past couple of years.”

Omot said the area where he has grown the most

during his time at SMSU has been his leadership abilities.

“Each year, putting in different roles and accepting

the roles and being mature and trying to lead my team

on, I definitely feel like I’ve grown,” he said. “Seeing

seniors when I first came do that helped me see their

lead. I was the only senior on the squad [last year], and

my job was just to lead and show the other guys how

to do it. And I trust that they will all do that next year

and go about their business, and then after that, they’ll

teach the next group that comes in. Just leaving your

mark as a leader, everybody has a unique way of leading.

Not always by words, but by actions. That’s where

I’d say I grew the most.”

Omot studied sports management, coaching and

marketing at SMSU and is still considering his options

when it comes to his future with basketball. Omot may

continue to play overseas or stay in the states and work

with sports in some other way.

“If I do not pursue basketball overseas, I was

thinking of staying in the sports industry,” he said.

“Whatever that takes. Not really sure what exact job,

got a couple different options, just have to sit down,

take time and weigh them out. But I’m also thinking of

pursuing a career overseas. That’s a long process, so I

have to figure all that out.”