Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
GALLOWAY, N.J. — Andrew Wiggins and Xavier Rathan-Mayes aren’t playing together here this week at Live in AC.
But could they end up going together to Kentucky?
“Definitely,” the 6-foot-4 Rathan-Mayes of CIA Bounce told SNY.tv at Stockton College. “We’ve always wanted to play together since we were young and go to school together so that’s definitely a possibility.”
That possibility became a little more realistic when Wildcats coach John Calipari called Rathan-Mayes on Wednesday to express his interest.
“Coach Cal actually called me [Wednesday],” Rathan-Mayes said. “[He said] that he’s looking forward to seeing me when I go down to school [Huntington Prep in West Va]. They are about an hour and a half from the school, so he wants me to come up and see him and the guys.
“It’s pretty good to have Coach Cal call you.”
A deadly 3-point shooter, Rathan-Mayes forms the core of CIA Bounce along with Wiggins and point guard Tyler Ennis. He averaged 15.4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists last season at Huntington Prep playing alongside Wiggins.
“The kid can score,” Bounce coach Tony McIntyre told SNY.tv. “He can shoot the ball. I think getting into a college sysem will help him with his endurance and his training. There’s no flaw in his game right now. He can straight up score so I don’t see any head coach not wanting a kid like that.
Rathan-Mayes listed offers from Florida State, Florida, Illinois, UConn, Baylor, Kansas, UCLA and Alabama.
“I’ll cut [my list] down right after summer is done,” Rathan-Mayes said.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton was here Wednesday night to watch Rathan-Mayes, but apparently did not get the memo that Wiggins is home in Toronto resting.
“Everybody has to step up a little bit [without him],” Rathan-Mayes said of Wiggins. “Tyler and I mostly gotta step up and take his scoring load on a little bit more. But I feel we’ve been doing a pretty good job.”
Kentucky and Florida State are recruiting both Wiggins and Rathan-Mayes, and figure to be in both players’ final lists.
Wiggins is currently Class of 2014, but could reclassify to 2013 and join Rathan-Mayes at one of those schools.
“It’s going to come down to where he’s going to play and play a lot as well,” McIntyre said of Rathan-Mayes. “It’s nice to have [Kentucky interest] but if he isn’t going to go in there and play a major role, he can do that on probably every other team.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
GALLOWAY, N.J. — Andrew Wiggins and Xavier Rathan-Mayes aren’t playing together here this week at Live in AC.
But could they end up going together to Kentucky?
“Definitely,” the 6-foot-4 Rathan-Mayes of CIA Bounce told SNY.tv at Stockton College. “We’ve always wanted to play together since we were young and go to school together so that’s definitely a possibility.”
That possibility became a little more realistic when Wildcats coach John Calipari called Rathan-Mayes on Wednesday to express his interest.
“Coach Cal actually called me [Wednesday],” Rathan-Mayes said. “[He said] that he’s looking forward to seeing me when I go down to school [Huntington Prep in West Va]. They are about an hour and a half from the school, so he wants me to come up and see him and the guys.
“It’s pretty good to have Coach Cal call you.”
A deadly 3-point shooter, Rathan-Mayes forms the core of CIA Bounce along with Wiggins and point guard Tyler Ennis. He averaged 15.4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists last season at Huntington Prep playing alongside Wiggins.
“The kid can score,” Bounce coach Tony McIntyre told SNY.tv. “He can shoot the ball. I think getting into a college sysem will help him with his endurance and his training. There’s no flaw in his game right now. He can straight up score so I don’t see any head coach not wanting a kid like that.
Rathan-Mayes listed offers from Florida State, Florida, Illinois, UConn, Baylor, Kansas, UCLA and Alabama.
“I’ll cut [my list] down right after summer is done,” Rathan-Mayes said.
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton was here Wednesday night to watch Rathan-Mayes, but apparently did not get the memo that Wiggins is home in Toronto resting.
“Everybody has to step up a little bit [without him],” Rathan-Mayes said of Wiggins. “Tyler and I mostly gotta step up and take his scoring load on a little bit more. But I feel we’ve been doing a pretty good job.”
Kentucky and Florida State are recruiting both Wiggins and Rathan-Mayes, and figure to be in both players’ final lists.
Wiggins is currently Class of 2014, but could reclassify to 2013 and join Rathan-Mayes at one of those schools.
“It’s going to come down to where he’s going to play and play a lot as well,” McIntyre said of Rathan-Mayes. “It’s nice to have [Kentucky interest] but if he isn’t going to go in there and play a major role, he can do that on probably every other team.”
