Omaha forward Deng Mayar, who transferred from North Dakota this offseason, died Saturday in a drowning incident, the school announced Sunday. He was 22.
According to news reports, Mayar was with a friend at the Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah, when they began to struggle in the water. Per Fox 13 in Salt Lake City, Mayar’s friend reached the shore but went back into the water to help Mayar.
Mayar continued to struggle and went underwater. He did not reemerge. Rescue crews recovered his body late Saturday night. His friend was hospitalized and is expected to recover, according to news reports.
“Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng’s passing,” Omaha men’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement. “After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team and he made tremendous progress this summer.
“[Mayar] was a joy to be around and made our culture better. We will miss him greatly. Jodi and I, along with our entire program, send our hearts and prayers to Deng’s family, friends and teammates.”
The 6-foot-8 Mayar, who was raised in Salt Lake City, averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for North Dakota last season. He finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in a 92-79 win over South Dakota in his former squad’s season finale. He then transferred to Omaha after the season.