Sydney defender Aliir Aliir beams with pride at the mention of Thon Maker.Not just because he and the Australian NBA draft pick are both Sudanese - but also because they share the same blood.Maker is Aliirs cousin, the son of his mothers sister. Its their common genes, a shared sporting prowess and strength amid adversity that have steered the child refugees to the heights of the AFL and NBA.Aliir was born in Kenyas Kakuma refugee camp, moving to Australia with his family when he was eight.Maker spent the first five years of his life in what is now South Sudan before fleeing with some relatives and joining Aliir in Newcastle, then moving to Perth while Aliirs family settled in Brisbane.Most of what the pair knew then was soccer - a 14-year-old Maker was aptly discovered kicking soccer balls in Perth before developing his basketball game in Sydney, the US and Canada.Last week the 216cm talent was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 10th pick of the NBA draft, leaving Aliir ecstatic. Ive known him pretty much all my life, Aliir told AAP.When he came down to Sydney recently I caught up with him.Just to see him get drafted shows his commitment and dedication.Hes gone over to the states at a young age and left his family behind - hes got no one over there.And hes worked hard to become an NBA player.He achieved that last week so Im so rapt for him.Like Maker, Aliir was basketball-crazy as an early teenager before some mates introduced him to AFL.An Oklahoma City Thunder fan, hes a Kevin Durant man to the core.But since Thon got drafted I might have to go for the Milwaukee Bucks, he admitted.Even now as a Swans star the 21-year-old still shoots hoops occasionally, just as he did this week in Sydney at a charity basketball clinic for disadvantaged children.The focus now is showing kids how far drive can get you, even when you have nothing else.Ever since I got drafted Ive had little kids who look up to me, Aliir said.I sort of had to embrace that challenge of being a role model and try to help as many kids as I can.Theres a lot of Sudanese kids who are talented, but their mind is probably not in the right place.Theres issues stopping them from going to the next level.I suppose my job is to come to the community and just have a chat to them, give them a word of advice and tell them my pathway and how I got to where I am.Hopefully that can inspire them. 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Cody Ford Bills Jersey . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. RIO DE JANEIRO -- A 14th-place finish at the Olympics might not seem like much to many. Its different for American gymnast Chris Brooks, whose performance in the mens all-around final on Wednesday meant everything.The 29-year-old U.S. captain fought through years of injuries and near-misses to make his Olympic debut at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Though he didnt end up on the medal stand, he was proud to hit all six of his routines without a hitch and represent the country after serving as an alternate in London.In the highest pressure situation possible ... to go out there and hit sets and basically just show people that I deserve to be out on the floor, Brooks said. Ive been an alternate for a long time and to get that opportunity is just pretty special to me. Im glad I could come through it.Wednesday marked the end of the Olympics for him and the final all-around competition of his career. He isnt retiring though, saying he wants to rest and recover before returning to competition where hell likely compete in only the parallel bars and high bar.His best event on Wednesday was the high bar, where his 15.200 was the third-highest score of the day.Hitting high bar and sticking was a phenomenal feeling to say the least, he said.Hes long struggled on the pommel horse, often falling off. On Wednesday, he hit his first five routines, leaving only the dreaded pommel horse to conquer. He managed to stay on, allowing him to finish a perfect 6 for 6. But the routine wasnt anything special and he received his lowest score of the day on it, dropping him down a few spots.ddddddddddddJust a little disappointed I couldnt have hit a little better pommel horse routine, but I stayed on, so thats good, he said with a laugh.Four-time national champion Sam Mikulak, who finished seventh on Wednesday, raved about his teammate.He did phenomenal, Mikulak said. It was great seeing him. Hes like: `This is my last big hurrah, and he went out on the biggest of notes.Mikulak had some trouble early, stumbling on the landing to his vault. But he got going after that, and wowed on the parallel bars to earn his highest score of the competition.This is the epitome of the sport, and when you can go and put on a solid performance that lives up to your expectations of what you should be capable of doing, you can be nothing but happy about it, he said.Theres still more in these games for the 23-year-old Mikulak, who will compete in the high bar and floor exercise finals next week. He also said Wednesday that he plans to compete through the next two Olympics.Although the Americans didnt come away with a medal again after also missing the hardware by finishing fifth in the team competition, Mikulak walked away from Wednesdays competition in a good place.I wouldnt change any way that Ive prepared for this competition, he said. I put my heart and soul into it every single day. I hit all of my routines. I have no regrets. ' ' '