Highly touted South Dakota State transfer and Lawrence native Zeke Mayo committed to the Kansas Jayhawks yesterday. The 2023-24 Summit League Player of the Year was one of the best players in the portal, and he will spend his final year of collegiate eligibility back in the city where he grew up.
After he announced his intentions to join the Jayhawks, he partook in an interview with the Lawrence Journal-World. However, he said something that might have answered a massive question for this offseason. Here is the quote:
“We obviously are super excited to just be a part of a team like this, who has so much experience and depth and growth that there is still to make,” Mayo said. “This team is very gritty, they’re talented inside and out, I’m just excited to get to play alongside a fantastic point guard in Dajuan (Harris) and also a center who can score from inside and out.”
Did Zeke Mayo spoil Hunter Dickinson's decision for next season?
Mayo is presumably referring to Dickinson as the "center who can score from inside and out," but he has not decided on whether he will return to school or enter the NBA Draft. The latest addition to the Jayhawks might have disclosed something that fans don't know.
Dickinson averaged 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks on 54.8% field goal shooting in his inaugural season in Lawrence. He garnered Second Team Consensus All-American honors and won the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award.
While he is not viewed highly by most professional scouts, he has not revealed where he will play basketball next year. Dickinson has one more year of eligibility remaining because he played in the 2020-21 COVID-19 season.
Mayo might have simply slipped up his words, but it is possible he leaked a piece of information that has not been released to the public. Either way, if Dickinson returns to the Kansas basketball program for one more campaign, the Jayhawks will be viewed among the top preseason favorites to win it all.