COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball student-athlete Blend Avdili (Aurora, Colo. / Eaglecrest High School) has signed a contract to play professional basketball with the K. B. Ylli basketball team in Therandë, Kosovo, becoming the second Mountain Lion this season to continue his career in the professional ranks.  Earlier this summer, Padiet Wang signed to play professional ball with the Bayer Giants in Leverkusen, Germany.
 
"This is really exciting," said Avdili.  "This is the reason why I always worked so hard. It was always one of my goals as a kid. All I wanted to do was play basketball as long as I can. I am just so thankful and blessed enough to be 23 and still playing a child's game."
 
In his senior campaign with the Mountain Lions, Avdili earned All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Second Team honors.  A starter in all 28 games, Avdili led the team and ranked eighth in the league in minutes played per game (32.0).  The 6-foot-6 guard/forward was sharpshooter for the Mountain Lions. In 2019-20, he led the team with 67 made three-point field goals and sank 36.2 percent of his shots from long range (67-of-185).  In 11 games this past season, he made at least three three-point field goals, including six treys against Colorado State-Pueblo (Feb. 14, 2020), MSU Denver (Feb. 8, 2020) and Colorado Christian University (Dec. 14, 2019).
 
"We are all very proud of Blend for signing his contract in Kosovo," commented UCCS head men's basketball coach Jeff Culver.  "Blend is the epitome of hard work paying off.  I am sure that Blend's work ethic and passion for the game will guide him well in this venture."
 
In four seasons with the Mountain Lions, Avdili started 51 games and saw action in 112.  A two-time All-RMAC Second Team selection, he averaged 10.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting the ball at a 45.2 percent clip (426-942) and 37.0 percent from downtown (178-481).  He dished out 255 assists while blocking 45 shots and stealing the ball 78 times on the defensive end of the court.  He netted a career high 27 points against Dixie State on Jan. 4, 2019 and pulled down 10 rebounds at Regis on Dec. 10, 2016 and at Dixie State on Jan. 3, 2020.  He closed out his career ranking fifth all-time in career scoring at UCCS with 1,193 points.
 
The Golden Eagles of KB Ylli compete in the Kosovo Basketball Super league.  The Golden Eagles finished the 2019-20 season ranked third in the league with a 16-8 record.
 
Avdili and Wang are the eighth and ninth Mountain Lions in the past four years to continue their career at the professional level: Jonathan Barnes, Kendall Godley, Ian MacDonald, Dalton Patton, Alex Welsh, Derrick White and Treshawn Wilford.