Julius Mays, a transfer from Wright State, will play a big part in the upcoming season for Kentucky Basketball.
Mays’ former coach, Billy Donlon, [URL=”http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/sports/college/wsus-donlon-pushing-after-losses/nRFQG/”]spoke to the Dayton Daily News[/URL] about Mays time at Wright State and his thoughts on his transfer to Kentucky.
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[COLOR=#444444][FONT=Arial]That’s easier said than done, especially when you’ve lost a cornerstone like Mays, who Kentucky coach John Calipari recently told Donlon would be in the top eight of the rotation for the defending national champs.[/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=#444444][FONT=Arial]The loss of Mays — who had transferred in from North Carolina State and became the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year — hurts WSU in a couple of ways. Last year the Raiders averaged 58 points a game and Mays accounted for a team-leading 14.2 a game.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“I have no ill will toward Julius and I wish him great success at Kentucky,” Donlon said after a long pause and a careful choice of words. “He made a decision he thought was in his best interests. But what I struggle with is that I know what he was when he walked in the door here as a player.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“For two years — the year he sat (per NCAA transfer rules) and the year he played — this whole university put a lot of time and effort into him. The athletic department, the trainers because he had a major hip injury, the doctors, the coaching staff, the strength coach, they all gave him everything they could when he needed it.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“So, if I was in his shoes would I have made a different decision? Absolutely. I believe in loyalty.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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I can understand Donlan’s point of view about Mays not being loyal to his program, but you also can’t blame the kid if he can play basketball at Kentucky. It is a pretty big step up in the basketball stratosphere.
It sounds like Mays will see significant time at Kentucky being the only senior, I would expect some leadership from him as well.
Also, if Mays fits into the top 8, I guess that would include Wiltjer, Noel, Poythress, Harrow, Goodwin, Cauley-Stein, and Jon Hood.
[URL=”http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1TSNF_enUS427US427&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=g5ITC4VvKHo8jM:&imgrefurl=http://www.coachcal.com/15558/2012/07/mays-willing-to-change-for-chance-to-win-big/&docid=mXSeQqHVpFQDtM&imgurl=http://coachcal-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/julius-mays-1.jpg&w=381&h=362&ei=xPE0UM3SEYPu9ASeooHgAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=815&vpy=206&dur=4248&hovh=219&hovw=230&tx=164&ty=134&sig=117872935827072871228&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=146&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:99″]Image Source[/URL]
