Omaha, North Dakota to forever remember Deng Mayar: 'His heart is as big as this gym'
By Rob Dauster and Sam Lance
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When the news broke in mid-August, Omaha and North Dakota players scattered across the country suddenly found themselves in grief. Deng Mayar, who transferred from North Dakota to Omaha this offseason, was suddenly gone.
“If you know Deng, his heart is as big as this gym,” North Dakota head coach Paul Sather said at The Field of 68’s Summit League Media day. “He was compassionate. He was just such an awesome, awesome young person.”
Mayar passed away at age 22, drowning at Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman, Utah. Police were called to the scene after reports of two people in distress in the water. Mayar was unable to get out, and divers found his body later that night.
The 6-foot-8 power forward had quite the college basketball journey. Mayar was raised in Salt Lake City and started his career at Howard College JUCO before jumping to the Division I level with North Dakota in 2023-24. He played 13 games his first year and carved out a role in his second, averaging 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds for the Fighting Hawks while making 10 starts. Mayar transferred to Omaha with high expectations of helping the Mavericks get back to the NCAA Tournament.
In his short span with Omaha, Mayar instantly made an impact on the program. Head coach Chris Crutchfield said he was probably Omaha’s most productive player in summer practice, and he was just starting to blossom into the player they knew he could be.
“It was devastating to our program. It was at a time where we all had left campus and we were all coming back in a week,” Crutchfield said. “He was only with us for two months, but he made a huge impact in our program. All of our guys are devastated. We’re still dealing with it today. It’s not as present as it was mid-August, but we’re still dealing with it. He’s a guy that impacted us. He’s gone but he will never be forgotten.”
Since Mayar’s passing, Omaha players have received support from the sports psychologist team, character coach Brian Page and the Omaha athletic department as a whole.
“And I just try to be there and love on our guys and give them support, let them know it’s going to be okay,” Crutchfield said.
It’s been a similar grieving process for the North Dakota program, which has eight returning guys that played with Mayar. They found out the news the practice before they left for a foreign trip to Winnipeg. Sather is glad the team was together when it happened so they could support each other.
Both programs plan to carry Mayar’s spirit with them into the season.
“At some point life is going to move on and we’re going to have to have a basketball team and the season’s going to come up,” Crutchfield said. “So let’s figure out how we can turn that pain into purpose and still continue to go out and honor Deng with this season.”
Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube
Subscribe to The Field of 68’s Daily Newsletter
