Elite group of KU newcomer guards ready to ‘compete at highest level,’ Mayo says

Summit League Player of the Year Zeke Mayo was the second of four players in the 2024 NCAA transfer portal to announce plans to attend Kansas.

The 6-foot-4 former South Dakota State guard chose the Jayhawks over Oklahoma, Texas and Creighton on April 2, two days after Florida’s Riley Kugel pledged to KU.

Mayo, a 2021 graduate of Lawrence High, wasn’t alarmed — wasn’t worried about the possibility of being recruited over — when KU coach Bill Self corralled Wisconsin guard AJ Storr on April 18 and Alabama guard Rylan Griffen on April 26.

In fact, Mayo welcomed the competition for playing time.

“It lets me know at KU we have a standard here,” Mayo said Sunday at Self’s basketball camp for youths. “We want to win. We are going to try to get the best players possible to compete at the highest level. AJ and Rylan are great players. We are all going to come here and compete.”

Kugel, by the way, reopened his recruitment on May 8, ultimately surfacing at Mississippi State.

The Jayhawks’ talented group of guards on the 2024-25 roster now consists of transfers Mayo, Storr, Griffen and incoming freshman Rakease Passmore, plus returnees Dajuan Harris, Elmarko Jackson and Jamari McDowell.

“We are all complementary players,” Mayo, a two-time first-team all-Summit League pick, said of himself, second-team all-Big Ten selection Storr and Griffen, a starter on the Crimson Tide’s Final Four team.

“Some of us can shoot,” added Mayo, who a year ago averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He hit 92 of 235 three-point attempts for a 39.1% completion percentage.

“Dajuan is a great passer,” Mayo said. “His assist numbers are going to go up … playing alongside Hunter (Dickinson) as well. We have a couple All-American guys that can score the ball, who are great basketball players. We’re all looking forward to the summer.”

The Jayhawks will be able to practice as a team several days a week while summer school is in session (Monday through July 26) in accordance with NCAA rules.

“Getting stronger, faster and work on my defense a lot,” Mayo said of his personal goals this summer. “I know it’s going to be a big transition for me. Understanding the role I’ve got to play. It starts with those kind of things.”

Summer is an important time for the new players to get comfortable in a new environment.

“I’ve met all of them (for) a couple days now,” Mayo said of the 2024-25 Jayhawks. Counting walk-ons, there are 17 players on the roster.

“We’re trying to get acclimated with each other. Team chemistry is progressing. A few of us have been chatting quite a bit (prior to reporting to campus Saturday). I’ve been talking to Rylan, AJ, Hunter. We’ve got some stuff to work on, some bonds to build.”

In Mayo, KU welcomes somebody who “has been in a leadership position the last couple years,” Mayo said. “I know Dajuan is the point guard and Hunter a fifth-year senior. Those two guys are obviously the heads of the snake right now. I look forward to being the one leader who can be a little more vocal and lead the team.”

Mayo figures the transition to becoming a Jayhawk will be helped by the fact he’s from Lawrence.

“I mean it’s kind of you are back to the normal life,” he said of being in his hometown. “Out in public people see me and know who I am. I’m kind of getting used to it a little bit. It’s a much bigger stage than it was at South Dakota State.”

He said the prospects of being a Jayhawk after three years at South Dakota State overwhelmed him during his official campus visit to KU.

“I think the moment it hit me … I was sitting in coach’s office and told him I wanted to come home. It was a surreal moment. The moment I thought of my community it all hit me,” Mayo said.

Mayo was asked when he first became a KU fan.

“I was so young I couldn’t even tell you, probably 4 or 5 years old,” he said. “I put on that jersey for the photo shoot (on his visit). It was crazy. I looked over at my mom, she was smiling, almost had tears coming out of her eyes. It was good to see.”

Mayo moved into McCarthy Hall on Saturday and was the subject of a video put out by KU welcoming all the newcomers to campus.

“I’ve seen the videos before. It was like, ‘Wow I’m in one of them,’’’ Mayo said. “Having my parents there with me it meant a lot. It’s going to be a great atmosphere around campus. I was walking around, It’s good to see familiar faces.”

He’s very good friends with a pair of KU football players out of Lawrence High — Devin Neal and Cole Mondi.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun, not only Dev but we’ve got Cole Mondi out there. There are some other students on campus I went to high school as well,” Mayo said.

Of games he’s looking forward to, he noted: “Every place you go play, the atmosphere is going to be incredible. I can’t wait.”