University of Nebraska basketball star Deng Mayar tragically died Saturday in a shocking drowning incident. He was 22.
The Omaha forward got into trouble while he was swimming with a friend at the Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, 20 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, on Saturday just before 6 p.m., Fox 13 reported.
Sa Mafutaga, 21, Mayar’s friend who was with him in the reservoir at the time, was able to reach the shore but then realized his friend was still in the water.
He went back in to help, but couldn’t reach his friend, and was pulled to safety himself by Unified Fire Authority.
“It was scary. We saw the police running past us with a stretcher, and there was a person on there who was really pale and wasn’t moving,” witness Hudsyn Sandoval, who lives nearby, told Fox 13.
Mayar, who had transferred to Omaha from the North Dakota Fighting Hawks this summer, was raised in Salt Lake City.
“Our entire program is devastated to learn of Deng’s passing. After competing against him for two years, we were elated to add him to our team and he made tremendous progress this summer,” Omaha men’s basketball coach Chris Crutchfield said in a statement, as reported by ESPN.
“He 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,” he said.
Mayar, a 6ft 8 forward, averaged 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Fighting Hawks last season and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in his final game, a 92-79 win over South Dakota.