SAN ANGELO – Former Angelo State star Demario Mayfield has signed a contract to continue his professional basketball career with KB sigal Pristina in Kosovo after playing the last three years in Iraq.

"I'm looking forward to the day-to-day grind and having the chance to play in one of the top leagues in Europe," Mayfield said. "I've put the work in all summer so I'm well prepared. I've been in Iraq the past three years and my experience there was fun and full of love. Being there showed me when I'm focused in I can achieve my goals."

Along with Mayfield, Chris Jones, Rajon Kelly, Omari Gudul, Kenny Williams, Prince Foster and Thomas Tshikaya are former Rams who are currently playing overseas at the professional level.  

Mayfield led the Rams throughout the 2014-15 season in scoring and rebounding and completed his senior year averaging 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game along with helping the program reach its first-ever NCAA Division II Sweet 16. He was named a Lone Star Conference first-team selection, was a two-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week and also earned one LSC Defensive Player of the Week honor. He earned conference and regional all-tournament teams for his production in the postseason tournaments and was an NABC and Daktronics All-South Central second-team selection.

"We are very proud of all of Demario's success in playing professional basketball," ASU head coach Cinco Boone said. "He has done an outstanding job in Iraq and we are excited about his opportunity in Europe. We look forward to hearing about his future success that we certainly know he will have in the days to come. He did such a great job for us here at ASU and it's been neat watching him provide for his family playing the game that he loves dearly."
 
After his career with the Rams, Mayfield signed with Al Nift where he played in the Iraqi Division I Basketball League. His amazing journey saw him average 33.2 points and 9.4 rebounds in his first professional season before leading his team with 29 points per game and a championship last year. He was named Asia-Basket.com All-Iraqi League Player of the Year along with earning Asia-Basket.com All-Iraqi League Import Player of the Year. Along with playing professionally, Mayfield was named to the Iraq national basketball team as its designated naturalized player after gaining Iraqi citizenship.

He signed in August to play in Kosovo's capital city and for a team that has won 12 national titles in the past 13 years. The team, which was founded in 1970, also won the Balkan League championship in 2015 and 2016.

"I'm mostly proud of improving every year and being in a great situation every year to provide for my family," Mayfield said.

Mayfield was among the most consistent players in the nation by scoring in double digits in 30 games and finishing his season at Angelo State with 271 rebounds. Mayfield finished the year second in the conference in scoring, rebounding, assists and with 51 total steals. His 134 total assists finished only behind teammate Chris Jones in the conference and was the 51st most in the nation.

A Royston, Georgia native, Mayfield recorded 11 double-doubles this season and was the only LSC player to have a triple-double. Mayfield, who played for Chris Beard and Boone, is the only player in Angelo State history to record a triple-double after he went for 14 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists in a win over Arlington Baptist. He finished the season with 37 3-pointers which was the second most on the team behind only Marsell Holden who established a new program record with 105 3-pointers during the historic. Mayfield went 5-for-5 on 3-pointers in a win over Midwestern State in the regular season and had three 3-pointers in three other games.

"My time here at Angelo State has been incredible and has really helped me get things going in the right direction," said Mayfield, back in 2015 when he signed his first professional. "Coach Boone, Beard and Dr. May didn't have to give me this opportunity and I know how lucky I am to have played here at Angelo State. I was in a tough situation before I came here, but they took a gamble on me and my family and I really appreciative for everything. It's been a great experience and now I'm ready for the next step in my career."
 

Kosovo - Sigal Prishtina signs Demario Mayfield, ex Al Nift https://t.co/VJWPQGgjXL

— Eurobasket (@EurobasketNews) August 24, 2018