EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - When Julius Mays decided to go from Wright State to Kentucky before last season, the one-year transfer had academics in mind, citing the school’s sports leadership master’s program as a big reason why.

Still, Mays, who began his career at North Carolina State, harbors aspirations of playing in the NBA and if he was to move towards that goal, there are few better roads to get there than the Wildcats and head coach John Calipari.

“If I didn’t make that decision, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Mays told SNY.tv following a solid showing at the Nets Draft Combine on Thursday afternoon. “Even with the season we had, I’d make that decision 10 more times just knowing the outcome and just to get the opportunity to play for Coach Cal.

In his one season in Lexington, a down year by program standards, Mays moved over from his natural position of point guard to play shooting guard. He averaged 9.3 points per game and shot 37 percent from 3-point range while seeing action in all 33 games for the young Wildcats, who finished 21-12 and lost in the first round of the NIT at Robert Morris.

“I was playing in a position I really wasn’t used to playing with the ball out of my hands, running off screens. but it taught me a lot,” Mays said. “It put another dimension into my game because I had never really run off screens. Playing for Coach Cal and just learning, playing in that system, which is like a pro system, it taught me a lot.”

As he makes his way through the draft process, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Mays projects as a point guard at the next level. Thursday brought about the chore of tangling with speedy 5-foot-10 Baylor product Pierre Jackson once the action at PNY Center got to 5-on-5 play.

Mays admittedly had some trouble staying with the smaller, quicker Jackson, but thought he played well off ball-screens and creating something off those ball-screens. Ball-screens, as he noted, are a large part of the offense in today’s NBA. He scored 17 points in the two-quarter, 24-minute scrimmage while showing a willingness to take and consistently make open jump shots.

Calipari, the one-time New Jersey Nets head coach, was back at the team’s practice facility taking in Mays’ workout and he came away impressed.

“He handled the ball well and from what I saw, I probably should’ve played him more at point guard,” Calipari joked to SNY.tv after the session ended.  ”He is a veteran college player. In other words, he’s a four-year guy and a guy who is skilled, will make open shots and he’s capable of playing 1 or 2. If you’re on a team that’s gonna trap and do things, he can do that.”

Mays is currently predicted to go undrafted by DraftExpress, but a summer league invite as an undrafted free agent is very much in play if he continues to perform well in workouts leading up to the NBA Draft on June 27.

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The 6-foot-10 forward averaged team-highs of 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game through five wins.

Yet when the 24-man roster for  the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team Training was announced Wednesday, Randle was not on it.

Nor were his future Kentucky teammates Andrew and Aaron Harrison (who were cut from the U18 team) or incoming Duke freshman Jabari Parker.

All of those players are projected as potential lottery picks in the 2014 NBA Draft.

There are no Kentucky players on the roster.

“Most of it is, they didn’t want to play. I’m not forcing kids to do anything,” Kentucky coach John Calipari told Sporting News. “I think the reason they all turned it down is, they want to get started.”

Calipari also told the Sporting News that sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein was invited to try out for the USA World University Games team but opted not to.

“Willie said, ‘This is not the summer for me to do this stuff. I just can’t wait to get back. I want to get prepared,’ ” Calipari said. “I’m happy they’re thinking in those terms. They know the spotlight’s on them.”

Duke associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski told Andy Katz of ESPN that some incoming freshmen want to use the summer to get adjusted to life on campus, as opposed to participating in training. Kentucky’s eight-week summer session starts in early June, according to Sporting News.

The U19 team will train in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Washington, D.C., in June before the competition in the Czech Republic June 27-July 7.

“The hardest time for these kids is when they are making that next step,’’ Wojciechowski told Katz. “They want to hit the ground running. It’s tough. Those are tough positions for those kids to be in.”

Parker’s future Duke teammate, sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon, is on the roster.

The only incoming college freshman on the U.S. roster are all Pac-12 players: Arizona’s Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, UCLA’s Bryce Alford and Washington Nigel Williams-Goss.

Brandon Ashley of Arizona is also on the roster.

Meantime, incoming Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins – the presumed No. 1 pick in 2014 -- is expected to play for Team Canada this summer, as first reported by SNY.tv.

Canadian coach Roy Rana said he also expected the core of his U18 team to return, including incoming Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis and incoming Florida State guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

The U.S. and Canada are in different pools.

**For more stories on Andrew Wiggins, click here.

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Anthony Davis, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, weighed 222 pounds at the combine and the ESPNU crew wonders how Noel will be able to post up and defend NBA big men at that weight.

Can his frame handle much more weight?

“I’m 206, I can post up,” Fran Fraschilla said on ESPNU, adding that he didn’t think Noel is the consensus No. 1 pick.

“I talked to a number of NBA general managers last night who echoed Fran’s concerns about this,” Chad Ford said. “206, even at the power forward position if you project him, that’s really light.”

One Western Conference GM said Noel’s weight wasn’t an issue, though.

“He’ll get stronger but his game is based on fast-twitch, quickness, mobility and agility,” the GM told SNY.tv.

The former Kentucky freshman did measure 6-10 in socks and 6-11 1/2 in shoes with a 9-2 wingspan, all of which are bigger than Davis.

Noel told Andy Katz he interviewed Thursday with six teams — Boston, Orlando, Charlotte, Phoenix, New Orleans and Cleveland.

He said he’s “well ahead of schedule” on his return from a left ACL injury.

“They say it’s still a learning process for this injury but the 6-8 month point would be around November/December,” said Noel, who led the nation with 4.4 blocks per game to go with 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.

Noel is at the eight-and-a-half-week point of his injury and said he’s working out twice a day in Birmingham, Ala., to get back.

“Through this injury process,” he said, “I’m just going to prepare my body and prepare my mind for what the NBA holds for me and I think I’ll definitely do well in coming back from this and I’ll have all my skills polished up.”

FREE THROWS

Katz reported on three injured players. Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng has a boot on his right ankle but is hopeful he can work out for some teams in the coming weeks. He interviewed with six teams…Maryland’s Alex Lex has a stress fracture in his left shin and will talk to 15 teams in Chicago.He hopes to be ready to work out in August….Jamaal Franklin of San Diego State has a boot on his left ankle and hopes to work out in June.

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Karl Towns Jr.

“I haven’t talked to him about Kentucky at all,” Towns Jr. told Larry Vaught. “He has so much talent, but we are good friends. I just wish him the best for any school he picks. I want to let him enjoy the time here and just be friends and talk basketball and play video games. Stuff like that.”

Wiggins is the top prospect in the Class of 2013 and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, so even if he picks Kentucky, he and Towns Jr. will likely never share the court together.

The 7-foot-1 Towns Jr. reclassified to the Class of 2014 and declared for Kentucky last December. The St. Joe’s-Metuchen star is coach John Calipari’s lone commit for that class.

Internet rumors had circulated that the 6-foot-7 Wiggins would announce his college choice at the Hoop Summit, which will air on ESPN2 on Saturday at 7 p.m.

But Wiggins has visits slated next week with North Carolina coach Roy Williams, Kansas coach Bill Self and Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, so any announcement will likely come sometime after that. Calipari last met with Wiggins before the McDonald’s All-American Game.

As for the Hoop Summit, Wiggins and Towns Jr. are teammates on the World Team that will take on the USA team that features three Kentucky commits in Aaron and Andrew Harrison and Julius Randle.

“They are all so talented. I would not be surprised at all if I go there and none of them are still there (because they’ve gone to the NBA),” Towns Jr. told Vaught.

Towns Jr. and St. Joe’s-Metuchen lost the New Jersey Tournament of Champions final to Syracuse-bound forward Tyler Roberson and Roselle Catholic in a game in which Towns Jr. seemed satisfied to play on the perimeter and managed just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting to go with five rebounds and three blocks.

If he can continue to improve his post game and take advantage of his size and strength, he could one day wind up in the NBA, where Wiggins, Randle and the Harrisons seem headed after one season in Lexington.

“With NBA scouts here, it’s always good to start your future early and show what you can do daily,” Towns Jr. told Vaught. “It will be fun to play against next year’s Kentucky Wildcats and know I will be there the next year. They will set the tone before me. But Saturday I will play my best against them and hopefully we will come out with a win.”

**For more stories on Andrew Wiggins, click here.

Wiggins Photo: Kelly Kline / Jordan Brand

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The 6-foot-10 Noel is projected as the No. 1 overall pick by DraftExpress.com despite having to undergo ACL surgery that is expected to keep him out of action until the fall.

If selected No. 1 overall, Noel would become the third Wildcat in four years taken with the top pick, joining John Wall and Anthony Davis.

“I have loved my time at Kentucky, but I feel that I’m ready to take the next step to the NBA,” Noel said in a statement. “I’ve learned so much here at UK and am thankful for Coach (John) Calipari, the staff and my teammates for all of their support. I especially appreciate the Big Blue Nation and all of the support, prayers and well-wishes I’ve received from them during my rehab and decision-making process. I’ll always be a Wildcat!”

Noel, an Everett, Mass., native, led the nation in blocks at 4.4 per game and tallied 106 in 24 games played. Prior to his season-ending knee injury he was the only player standing taller than 6-foot-5 to rank in the top 30 in steals per outing as he had accumulated 50 steals on the year.

He averaged 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. His rebounds and blocked shots led the Southeastern Conference, while he also ranked among the top-10 players in steals per game, defensive rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and minutes played per game.

Noel finished the season ranked second in Kentucky single-season history with 106 blocks. His 50 steals ranked as the fifth most in a single season by a freshman. His .590 field-goal percentage is the ninth-best mark in school history, while his steals per game (2.1) is the seventh-best mark in school history.

“I support Nerlens’ decision to enter his name in the draft and am excited for him and his future,” Calipari said. “The hard work and will to win he showed on the floor this year and the dedication and attitude he has shown in his rehab will only be a reward for him and whatever team drafts him in June.”

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By BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

SPECIAL TO ZAGSBLOG

NEW YORK – Clearly Andrew Harrison, a five-star point guard who is one of six All-Americans committed to Kentucky, has no shortage of confidence.

The Travis (Texas) High School point guard believes in his abilities on the basketball court so much, he even told USA Today this week he’d get the best of Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one by an 11-7 margin.

It was in good fun for a gifted teenager to playfully think about competing against the game’s greatest player in his prime, but would Harrison bring up his prediction if he actually got to meet His Airness before or after Saturday’s Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center?

“No, definitely not,” Harrison said with a hearty laugh. “I’ve gotten a lot of grief for that already. Hey, I knew I had it coming, though.”

Because he is an NBA owner, Jordan is technically not permitted to meet the high school players in his own game, so the face-to-face won’t happen anyway.

Harrison may or may not have held his own against Jordan at his best; the world will never know.

However, it is probably good for Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Kentucky fans that Harrison is so confident.

After all, he will be running the point next year in Lexington, deciding how the ball is allocated and dispersed among a group of star players that will include holdovers Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kyle Wiltjer, and newcomers Aaron Harrison (his twin brother), Julius Randle, Marcus Lee, James Young and Dakari Johnson.

On Saturday, Harrison will matchup gainst Florida commit Kasey Hill (Montverde Academy, Fla.) and fellow floor general Nigel Williams-Goss (Findlay Prep, Nev.), who is signed with Washington.

“Me, as a man, I believe nobody can beat me,” Harrison said during the prestigious event’s media day at Basketball City on Thursday afternoon.

With 21 other All-Americans are set to suit up for the East vs. West showdown at 8 p.m., the East’s Harrison will be surrounded by plenty of future NBA prospects. It’ll be entertaining to decipher who is the gala’s best dunker, best shooter, best passer; the list goes on and on.

As for point guards, there’s no doubt which star boasts the most potent crossover.

“Oh, definitely me,” Harrison said. “I have the best crossover by far.”

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound Harrison, who averaged 14.1 points, 5.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds during his senior year, just hopes his talents will help the Wildcats capture the program’s second national title in three years.

“God willing, we’ll be the best in the country,” he said of his future team, which is comprised of five other top 20 recruits and possibly Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep, W. Va.), the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2013.

“Everybody knows what we each can do, so I think we’re past that stage,” Harrison said. “I think they’ll like playing with me because I give up the ball and make sure everybody gets involved. Aaron and I, we committed first, so it means the other guys wouldn’t mind playing with us – and we won’t mind playing with them.”

Photo: ESPN.com

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NEW YORK — New York native Dakari Johnson is returning home this week for the Jordan Brand Classic, which takes place Saturday at Barclays Center.

It’s been quite a week for the 6-foot-10 Johnson, who last weekend won the ESPN National High School Invitational with coach Kevin Boyle’s Montverde (Fla..) Academy team.

After the game, he guaranteed a Kentucky national championship in 2014.

In this video interview with SNY.tv, Johnson talks about the NHSI title, playing with five other Kentucky All-Americans in the Jordan Classic and his guarantee.

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By BRIAN FITZSIMMONS

Special to ZAGSBLOG

NEW YORK – Now that the dust has settled from Louisville’s win over Michigan in the national championship showdown on Monday, college basketball fans are turning their attention to the anticipation for next season.

Where to start?

Well, that’s easy because Kentucky commit Dakari Johnson of Montverde (Fla.) Academy guaranteed the Wildcats would be the last ones standing in 2014.

If that were to happen, it would mean the state of Kentucky would win three straight NCAA titles, with Kentucky winning two of the three.

“Guarantee? I can guarantee we’ll work hard every day,” quipped Johnson’s future teammate, Andrew Harrison, at the Jordan Brand Classic’s media day on Thursday afternoon at Basketball City. “But if Dakari believes it, than I believe it too.”

Considering Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian, Texas), James Young (Rochester, Mich.), Marcus Lee (Deer Valley, Calif.) and Aaron Harrison (Travis, Texas) will be joining Johnson and Andrew Harrison at Kentucky next fall, maybe the Joe Namath-like statement isn’t too far-fetched.

And certainly not if Kentucky adds Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2013, who is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State and North Carolina and is on the Jordan Brand Classic East team here along with Randle and the Harrison twins.

By luring six All-Americans – all of whom will participate in Saturday’s Jordan Brand Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn — John Calipari has solidified his fourth No. 1 recruiting class in his five-year tenure with the Wildcats. According to each member of the Super Six, winning is all that matters.

“I don’t feel the pressure or the hype,” said Randle, a 6-foot-9 power forward who is tabbed as a top-three prospect in the country. “I know people have been talking about it, but I don’t go looking for that stuff. We want a national championship and that’s it. That’s all I want. I think it’s every kid’s dream to win it.”

The pomp and circumstance that will trail this heralded group won’t ever turn to vapor, but it surely begs the question: Can a crowded rotation work in Calipari’s system?

During this forgettable past campaign that ended with a loss to Robert Morris in the NIT’s opening round, Calipari was rather conservative with his rotation, more or less opting to live and die with his starting five. In 33 games, eight players received 10 or more minutes only 11 times.

“Winning is all that matters. I don’t know about the other guys, but I believe we’re all going to have to work for the minutes we each get,” said Lee, who, at 6-foot-9, will use his long, lanky frame to help maintain the program’s trademark of thriving with a strong post defense. “It can work. Having a 12- or 13-man rotation can work.

“We can all get a couple minutes here, couple minutes there. It can quickly be five on the court, then quickly another five on the court. We can space ourselves out in a way none of us were able to do in high school.”

Implementing that unorthodox system could succeed, especially over a brutal schedule of 30-plus games including a potential deep run throughout the NCAA Tournament, and it would also alter Calipari’s formula of using defense to win games. Instead, the Wildcats would adopt a reputation for simply wearing down teams with fresh legs and turning most second halves into a track meet.

Creating an identity is the easy part; getting his new group to jell while understanding their roles will be Calipari’s greatest hurdle.

“We’re trying to get chemistry,” said Andrew Harrison, a speedy point guard whose pass-first mantra will likely buy him a lot of minutes early on. “Everybody knows what we each can do, so I think we’re past that stage. I think they’ll like playing with me because I give up the ball and make sure everybody gets involved. Aaron and I, we committed first, so it means the other guys wouldn’t mind playing with us – and we won’t mind playing with them.”

Oddly enough, the future Wildcats are already trudging through the infant stages of meshing thanks to the McDonald’s All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.

“Most teams don’t get all their recruits together at the same time during an all-star game,” Lee said. “Luckily enough, we’ve gotten to do this twice together.”

Added Johnson: “It’s going to help a lot because then we’ll be able to get used to each other. It was a little weird at first, but (coming together) started at the McDonald’s game. All week, we’re hanging out and playing with each other.”

Learning about each other’s tendencies and capabilities will be a major factor in the coming months, but for now, the group is enjoying a newly formed bond.

“They’re all goofballs. They’re all really funny,” Young laughed. “We all just clicked and are becoming friends really quickly. But we’re going to have to work hard and do what we have to do. We’ll keep the rotation going, but really we’ll just do whatever it takes to win a national championship.”

That’s a big enough guarantee for now.

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That will be a dominating storyline for much of the next year in college basketball.

The Bluegrass State now has won two straight, with Rick Pitino and Louisville cutting down the nets in 2013 and John Calipari and Kentucky winning it all in 2012.

Both teams figure to be right back in the mix in 2014, with Kentucky’s boatload of McDonald’s All-Americans likely to make them a preseason favorite in the eyes of many folks.

The Wildcats flamed out in the first round of the NIT this season, but will add at least six McDonald’s All-Americans to returning players Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein and Kyle Wiltjer.

If Andrew Wiggins, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, pulls the trigger for the Wildcats over Florida State, Kansas and North Carolina, it will be hard to pick against the Cats in 2014.

“He’s the best player in the world so I don’t know how far he can bring them,” Syracuse-bound point guard Tyler Ennis, Wiggins’ AAU teammate, told SNY.tv. “But having the best player in the world is not going to hurt anybody.

Fellow Canadian Kris Joseph concurred on the impact Wiggins could make.

“You know what? Any school that he goes to, they’re gonna make that program revolve around him, you know what I mean?” the Nets forward told SNY.tv recently.

“My thing is, any school you go to, you want to leave some type of a legacy. You don’t want to go somewhere, even if it’s just for one year, where you don’t have a chance of making the tournament. It’s hard to do that with one player. You want to go to a school where you have some guys you could surround yourself with to make a great run and play great basketball.”

Louisville isn’t going anywhere, either.

The Cardinals will lose senior point guard Peyton Siva to graduation and junior big man Gorgui Dieng to the NBA Draft. It’s possible they could lose junior guard Russ Smith to the Draft, too, but Russdiculous hardly helped his stock with his 3-for-16 shooting performance in the championship game.

“I want to encourage my guys to put their name in the draft, just for the experience, whether they go or not,” Pitino said.

Louisville brings in junior college point guard Chris Jones to replace Siva, and adds three other recruits, too.

They will likely return forwards Luke Hancock, the MOP of the Final Four; Chane Behanan, he of the 15 points and 13 boards in the championship game; and stud freshman Montrezl Harrell, who came up huge in the Big East Tournament.

Sophomore Kevin Ware hopes to come back healthy from his gruesome leg injury, and sophomore Wayne Blackshear figures to have an even bigger role next year.

Once again, Kentucky and Louisville figure to be contrasting examples of how to put a team together.

The Wildcats will be loaded with one-and-dones as Calipari shoots for his second title in three years, while Pitino will have another experienced team of upperclassmen as he seeks his second title in a row and third overall.

“Well, for us to win this national championship truly a blessing from God,” Siva said in response to a question about how it felt to follow Kentucky’s win with one of their own. “We don’t look at it as who won it last year. We’re living in the present. We got this win for our team.

“I told somebody earlier, this is really what a team is. This is really what college basketball is about, a group of guys who are like family. With Kevin Ware going down like that, everybody rallying around him, it showed how much we love each other, that we are a family. We’re truly blessed to be here with this national championship trophy.”

And you can bet both Kentucky and Louisville will be in the hunt again a year from now when the Bluegrass State seeks its third championship in a row.

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The school announced Monday that freshman big man Willie Cauley-Stein and sophomore forward Kyle Wiltjer will both return to campus, while freshman guard Archie Goodwin will enter his name in the NBA Draft but won’t hire an agent.

Freshman big man Nerlens Noel has yet to announce his plans, but is projected as the No. 1 pick by most people. Fellow frosh Alex Poythress has yet to announce his plans and is said to be collecting information.

DraftExpress.com currently projects Poythress as the No. 16 pick this year, and Goodwin as No. 18.

“I think Goodwin is going to go 12-22 based on upside and potential, nothing to do with the way he played this year at Kentucky,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. 

He added that he thinks Poythress should return to school to develop his game.

“I think basketball-wise he needs to stay,” the scout said. “To me, he didn’t have it figured out. He’s tremendous physically, he doesn’t know what to do with what he has. He has a body like an NBA All-Star.”

The NBA Draft is June 27.

“I’m excited that Willie and Kyle have decided to return for next season,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “When we talk about a players-first program, our goal is for each player to reach his dreams. Willie and Kyle believe it is in their best interest to return to Kentucky next season to achieve those dreams, and I fully support their decisions.

“Although I really wanted Archie to return for his sophomore season, I fully support him choosing to pursue his dreams. He has the drive and desire to be great and I will continue to do everything I can to make sure he succeeds in life both on and off the court.”

Calipari has seven committed recruits, including six McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-Americans, and is expected to add shooting guard Dominique Hawkins and potentially Andrew Wiggins, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

In the frontcourt next season, Calipari will now have Cauley-Stein, Wiltjer, Julius Randle, Marcus Lee, Dakari Johnson and Derek Willis.

The backcourt and wing positions will include Andrew and Aaron Harrison, James Young and possibly Wiggins leading the way.

Calipari will have a truckload full of future NBA draft picks — as many as eight or nine, according to NBA executives — but will also have to manage expectations about playing time and roles.

“Now the coach is in charge, not the kids, because they’ll have to compete for minutes and that’s the way it should be,” the NBA scout said. “And that was not the case this year.”

Kentucky won an NCAA championship in 2012 with a blend of four freshman, two sophomores and one senior, six of whom were drafted last year.

“They’ll have an NBA team there,” the NBA scout said. “Now he’s going to have some veteran guys coming back and that’s who he had the year he won the championship.”

This incoming team will be even more loaded, but the returning players say they’re excited for the challenge.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to develop as an all-around player,” the 7-foot-1 Cauley-Stein said. “I’m also excited for the opportunity to try and win a national championship.”

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