Omaha men’s basketball mourns loss of Deng Mayar

The call came in early Sunday morning. One coach Chris Crutchfield feared. One he never received in 33 years of coaching.”His sister called and told us what had happened. And of course, we were devastated,” he said.His player, Deng Mayar, died while swimming at Blackridge Reservoir in Utah.He was only 22 years old.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Omaha men’s basketball player Deng Mayar diesMayar, who spent the last two seasons at North Dakota, transferred to Omaha in April, went through summer workouts, and was poised for a big season”That’s what makes it hard. that he was only here for a short period of time, and he made an impact. He made such an impact in two months,” Crutchfield said. “At first, you see the talent and you see the size. You see the athleticism. Once he did go into the portal, we kind of knew he was what we were looking for at this spot. He knew our program. We knew him. It was kind of like a perfect match.”Off the court, the only thing bigger than his 6-foo-7 frame was his personality, which was on display during a team retreat this summer.”They did a reenactment of the movie, Stomp The Yard. It was his idea and it was the funniest thing ever,” he said. “They won the skit night, and that was one of those times that we’re definitely going to remember.”In the face of tragedy, Crutchfield will lead his program forward the only way he knows how.”The way we function as a program is as a family. Sometimes when things like this happen, there’s no playbook. We’ll get through it. It’s hard but we’ll get through it,” the coach said.Mayar’s family set up a GoFundMe page, asking for donations for his funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, click the link here.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

OMAHA, Neb. —

The call came in early Sunday morning. One coach Chris Crutchfield feared. One he never received in 33 years of coaching.

“His sister called and told us what had happened. And of course, we were devastated,” he said.

His player, Deng Mayar, died while swimming at Blackridge Reservoir in Utah.

He was only 22 years old.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Omaha men’s basketball player Deng Mayar dies

Mayar, who spent the last two seasons at North Dakota, transferred to Omaha in April, went through summer workouts, and was poised for a big season

“That’s what makes it hard. that he was only here for a short period of time, and he made an impact. He made such an impact in two months,” Crutchfield said. “At first, you see the talent and you see the size. You see the athleticism. Once he did go into the portal, we kind of knew he was what we were looking for at this spot. He knew our program. We knew him. It was kind of like a perfect match.”

Off the court, the only thing bigger than his 6-foo-7 frame was his personality, which was on display during a team retreat this summer.

“They did a reenactment of the movie, Stomp The Yard. It was his idea and it was the funniest thing ever,” he said. “They won the skit night, and that was one of those times that we’re definitely going to remember.”

In the face of tragedy, Crutchfield will lead his program forward the only way he knows how.

“The way we function as a program is as a family. Sometimes when things like this happen, there’s no playbook. We’ll get through it. It’s hard but we’ll get through it,” the coach said.

Mayar’s family set up a GoFundMe page, asking for donations for his funeral expenses. If you would like to donate, click the link here.

NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |