Why this Kansas Jayhawks NCAA Tournament is extra-special for hometown standout Zeke Mayo
Zeke Mayo recalls rooting for his hometown Kansas Jayhawks as they defeated both North Carolina and Memphis in the 2008 Final Four.
He was a 5-year-old KU basketball fan at the time.
“I was a little kid watching the Final Four in San Antonio,” Mayo, KU’s senior combo guard from Lawrence, said Sunday.
He recalled being glued to the TV as the Jayhawks chased a national title.
“We talked about it a little bit upstairs with coach (Bill) Self, you know, the San Antonio pattern and the success they’ve had when the Final Four is in San Antonio,” Mayo said.
KU also marched to the Final Four in San Antonio in 2018. That’s where the Jayhawks lost to Villanova in the national semifinals. KU also beat Richmond then lost to VCU in the Elite Eight in San Antonio in 2011.
What’s more, Self’s University of Illinois squad beat KU in a Sweet 16 game in 2001 in San Antonio. (His Illini fell one win shy of the Final Four, losing in the Elite Eight to Arizona.)
The 2025 Final Four will return to San Antonio in a couple weeks to conclude the 2024-25 season.
Mayo, who has averaged 14.5 points a game (second on the team to Hunter Dickinson’s 17.6 average) in his one season at KU, would love to help his favorite team return to San Antonio for a shot at KU’s third national title in the 22-year Self era.
“I am blessed to have the opportunity to play for Kansas,” Mayo, a transfer from South Dakota State, said. “I’ve felt that way all season.
“Not just about the tournament, but every time I had the opportunity to go out there and play for Kansas. It means a lot to me to be able to represent Kansas in March Madness, obviously just with the winning pattern that they’ve had in the past.”
This is not Mayo’s first NCAA Tournament. His South Dakota State team fell to Iowa State (82-65) as a 15-seed last March in a first-round game in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2022, South Dakota State and Mayo lost to Providence (66-57) in the first round as a No. 13 seed in Buffalo.
KU is a No. 7 seed this year, set to play No. 10 seed Arkansas in a first-round West Regional game at 6:10 p.m. Central time Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.
“Anybody should be excited for the month of March and then obviously into early April,” Mayo said. “March Madness is the best tournament there is. Anything can happen. Upsets happen.
“But just to have the opportunity to go out there and play on a neutral floor, nobody really has an advantage. So it’s just just hooping at the end of the day. We’re really excited for that.”
If KU defeats Arkansas, the Jayhawks would meet either St. John’s or Omaha on Saturday for a spot in the Sweet 16 (a week from Friday in San Francisco).
“I think we like our draw,” Mayo said, “but it’s going to be tough. No matter who you are in the tournament, it’s March Madness and anything can happen. We like where we’re at. It’s going to be a tough two games to win, but we’’ll prepare as best as we can.”
The Jayhawks have already played Arkansas this season. The Razorbacks stopped KU 85-69 in an exhibition game in late October in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“They’re very athletic, very strong, physical, fast. They’re a great team,” said Mayo, who scored seven points on 2-of-6 shooting (2-of-5 from 3) with four rebounds, two assists and three turnovers in 25 minutes in that practice game for charity.
Arkansas sophomore guard D.J. Wagner had 24 points and four rebounds and freshman guard Boogie Fland 22 points, six steals and five assists.
“They are coached by a great coach,” Mayo said of John Calipari, whose career started on Ted Owens’ coaching staff at KU. “Both teams are looking at full strength and it’s going to be a great game for sure.”
Self said he senses that sharpshooter Mayo, who has made 41.3% of his 3-point attempts (85-of-206) this season and 44.3% overall (163-368), wants to have a great NCAA Tournament. Not just because he grew up as a KU fan in Lawrence — he was a standout guard at Lawrence High School before heading to South Dakota State for three seasons.
“I think it’s cool that he gets a chance to play in his home town for the hometown team. But when he signed to come here, the way I looked at it, it was a given, we’re gonna play in the NCAA Tournament,” Self said.
“It’s been what, 35 years in a row (KU last missed the tourney in 1989)? So I don’t know that I look at it as it is cool to play for Kansas because they’re in the tournament. I look at it’s just cool that he gets a chance to play for Kansas.”
As somebody with knowledge of KU and somebody with tourney experience, Mayo will try to give some pointers to KU’s younger players.
“I think the biggest thing is probably just not trying to do too much, kind of implementing that into our guys’ heads,” Mayo said. “Just keep the game simple, as simple as possible. And our coaches try to do that. Sometimes we get off-track a little bit.
“But everybody’s continuing to try and buy into what he (Self) is telling us, and the game-plans that we have for other teams. I don’t really see us taking a step backward. I see us taking a step forward, going far into the tournament.”
One person who will be watching closely Thursday is Mayo’s KC Run GMC AAU coach, L.J. Goolsby.
“He’s always dreamed of running out of that tunnel like a lot of kids who grow up in the area,” Goolsby told The Star in an interview before the start of the season. “He is just an awesome kid. What is cool is seeing him come out of his shell. He was a shy kid early on. He’s more outgoing in personality, just a phenomenal kid.”
One who might have been overlooked a bit in the initial recruiting process.
“The South Dakota State coaches did a good job of doing their homework in recruiting him,” Goolsby said. “It was crazy. It (senior year at Lawrence High) was during COVID.
“That was a crazy time for recruiting. Nobody got to see him play. That was our team with Zeke, Tamar Bates and Mark Mitchell. We were really looking forward to getting out on the circuit but had to stay around here. We mainly played against ourselves and maybe teams from the area or Nebraska. Nobody got a good feel for him at the time. I was always dumbfounded so many missed out on him.”
Self is happy that he was able to coach Mayo for one season and is hoping for a long postseason run.
“He is a 10,” Self said. “It’s nice to have a local guy. Our community I think enjoys supporting Zeke. I wish we had him more than one year. We’ll enjoy him while we’ve got him. It’s not going to last forever.”
Mayo is pleased with his decision to play one season — his final season of college basketball — at KU.
“It feels great to be part of something like this,” he said. “I feel this is a tight knit circle with the group of guys we have, like a brotherhood. We feel very, very connected.”
