Maccabi Ashdod signs American forward: "He completes our puzzle"

Maccabi Ashdod signed a fifth foreign player this morning (Monday): forward Markis McDuffie (29, 2.03 meters) has signed for one season. He will complete the team's roster of foreign players alongside Augustine Rubit, Isaiah Hill, Robert Turner, and Koudus Wahab.

McDuffie, a graduate of Wichita State University, has played in several top leagues in Europe, including Italy, France, and Turkey. His first stop in Europe was in Hungary, from where he moved to the Italian second division team Udine, averaging 20.4 points per game. This performance earned him a contract in the first division with Napoli, where he posted impressive averages of 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The next stop in Europe was Dijon in France, where he played 35 games with an average of 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds. That same season, he played with Dijon in the FIBA Champions League, met Hapoel Jerusalem twice, and finished with 16 and 24 points respectively. Afterward, he moved to the Turkish team Turk Telekom, and from there, during the 2023/24 season, to the Italian team Pesaro. There, he posted impressive averages of 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds and was selected for the second team of the Italian league.

The following season he returned to Dijon, and last season he played in France for Nancy, finishing the season with 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

Nati Cohen, the club's sports director, stated:

"Markis brings with him a great deal of experience in top European leagues. Wherever he has been, he brought a lot of energy, athleticism, top-level individual skills, and rebounding. Markis completes the puzzle we wanted, and we are very satisfied with the roster that has been built, considering the budget we are working with, without taking unnecessary risks or adventures."