Former Lawrence High hoops standout Zeke Mayo places name in NCAA transfer portal
Former Lawrence High basketball standout Zeke Mayo, who averaged 18.8 points a game at South Dakota State this season and 18.2 ppg during the 2022-23 campaign, has decided to enter his name in both the 2024 NBA Draft as well as the NCAA transfer portal.
Mayo, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound junior combo guard and reigning Summit League Player of the Year, made the announcement Tuesday on social media site X, formerly Twitter.
He did not list any possible schools that might be on his list of transfer destinations.
“After careful thought and consideration with my family and coaches, I will be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility with intentions to enter the transfer portal,” Mayo said in a statement printed Tuesday on X.
“Please respect my decision as I’m blessed beyond measure to have this opportunity, and thank you again to Jackrabbit Nation and all of my supporters.”
He added: “I would like to thank my coaches and teammates for bringing me in with open arms and helping me succeed in the yellow and blue for the past three years.
Mayo hit 46.6% of his shots this season and 42.6% from the field as a sophomore in 2022-23. He went 92-of-235 from 3 this past season for 39.1%. He dished 123 assists to 40 turnovers while averaging 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in his just-completed junior campaign.
Mayo scored 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting (4-of-6 from 3 and 5-of-5 from the line) and dished four assists in an 82-65 first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State last Thursday in Omaha, Nebraska. Earlier, in the finals of the Summit League tournament, he had 16 points and six rebounds in an 86-68 title game victory over Denver.
“There was speculation that the Lawrence, Kansas native would enter the transfer portal last season, but he stayed another year and led the Jackrabbits to the Summit League title and their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance,” wrote Jonathan Fernandez of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
Mayo, who graduated from Lawrence High in May of 2021, was co-recipient of the 2021 DiRenna Award, which recognizes the top boys basketball player in the Kansas City area. He shared the award with Mark Mitchell of Bishop Miege.
Of his decision to transfer out of South Dakota State, he told Eric Bossi of 247Sports.com: “It’s a very tough decision because it’s all I’ve known the last three years. Just being here and understanding what I’m leaving behind with the coaching staff and my teammates, it’s tough for sure. But I also understand there are some things out there I need to go for in order to achieve my dreams.”
Mayo told ESPN.com last November he grew up a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks.
Of his decision to remain at South Dakota State for his junior season he said: “My way of thinking was situational for me: whether that was staying here and playing continuous, consistent 30, 35-minute games or if I were to transfer to a bigger school, would I come off the bench or would I play 20, 25 minutes a game and not have the freedom I do right now? I felt like I was under-recruited in high school, so my determination, my motivation (in staying) was to display myself and let other teams and other schools around the country realize what they missed out on. But I love my team, I love my coaches and I love this university.”
Yet he conceded to reporter Myron Medcalf: “It (transferring to a high-major school) is obviously very tempting. You want to play on TV every night in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.”
