Maccabi Ashdod have completed their quota of foreign players ahead of the new season, announcing the signing of American forward Markis McDuffie on a one-year contract, ONE reports.
The 6-foot-8 forward, who turns 29 next month, arrives after a stint at French club SLUC Nancy, part of a well-travelled European career that has taken in stops in Hungary, Italy, France and Turkey since he went undrafted out of Wichita State in 2019.
His numbers have swung with the level of competition: 20.4 points per game during a spell at Udine in Italy's second tier, 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game in Serie A with Napoli, and 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds at Dijon in France. Last season at Nancy, in a stronger French top flight, his output settled at 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. A season earlier, at Piacenza, he averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds and was named to the Italian second division's all-league second team.
Ashdod's professional director, Nati Cohen, framed the signing as the final piece of the club's roster build for a season that will see them competing in Israel's top flight after their promotion. According to ONE, Cohen said McDuffie brings "a lot of experience in top European leagues" along with "energy, athleticism, high-level individual ability and rebounding" that completes the squad puzzle.
McDuffie becomes the fifth and, per the report, final import on Ashdod's roster, joining Augustin Rubit, Isaiah Hill, Robert Turner and Qudus Wahab as the club's foreign contingent for the campaign ahead.
With the import slots now filled, attention in Ashdod turns to preseason preparations as the club builds toward its first games back among Israel's elite.
