Former Husker men’s basketball performer Lat Mayen was named as one of 25 players selected to South Sudan’s preliminary Paris Olympics roster this week.
Mayen, who has played professionally in Australia and New Zealand since graduating from Nebraska in 2022, is currently playing for the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand National Basketball League, averaging 17.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in nine games this summer. He played for Cairns in the Australian National Basketball League in each of the last two seasons.
South Sudan has two games scheduled before the Olympics, when they will travel to London for matchups with Germany (July 18) and the United States (July 20). This will be South Sudan’s first Olympic appearance, as the country has been recognized by FIBA since 2018.
Previously Mayen played for the Australian U18 team in 2016 FIBA Oceania Championships, averaging 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in helping Australia to a runner-up finish.
At Nebraska, Mayen started 57 games for the Huskers during his two-year career (2020-21 to 2021-22), averaging 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in that span. In 2021-22, Mayen started 30 games for the Huskers, averaging 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He had a season-high 13 points in the Huskers’ win at Penn State and had 11 points in a loss to No. 11 Wisconsin. He was one of two Huskers to start all 27 games in 2020-21, as the junior college transfer averaged 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring and topped NU with 48 3-pointers while shooting 35 percent from beyond the arc. He poured in a career-high 25 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Rutgers in 2021. He also spent one season at TCU and Chipola (Fla.) College
He graduated with a degree in child, youth & family studies in 2022.