James Mays

James Mays

Mays continues to want to join the NBA and turned away from his international career to take D-League paychecks last season. He started with the Springfield Armor (16.4ppg, 10.6rpg), went to the Maine Red Claws (12.4ppg, 9.6 rpg) and finished with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (14.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg). Mays is an athletic 6'9 and who impacts the game accordingly, but his shot-making and decision making skills have not progressed in his professional career, and his potential is burning out.

Mays was another summer leaguer, and his stints in China and Puerto Rico (two regular ports of call for this website) have made him an oft-chronicled figure around here. He averaged 3.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.5 fouls in 4 summer league games with Toronto this year.

James Mays - Former Clemson forward Mays has always preferred to face the basket, and is a talented face-up passer, yet in recent years he has resorted to taking a lot of threes. Perhaps the reason for his new-found three point affinity has something to do with the torn achilles tendon that caused him to miss almost all of the 2008-09 season. That can cripple a man's athleticism. Whatever the reason, though, his 29.6% conversion rate in Puerto Rico this spring doesn't seem to justify the career move.

James Mays

Clemson forward Mays was covered in the Pacers SL roster breakdown. Like many players, Mays was set to play in both summer leagues, in the Orlando one first and the Vegas one second. He did not appear in any games for Indiana, however.

James Mays

Mays spent last season trying to turn himself into a three point shooter . Then in Puerto Rico playing for Humacao, Mays put up his usual good numbers across the board, but his scoring efficiency was poor all season. This is mainly because he took five of those three pointers a game, attempting one in at least every game he played. And since he played 25 out of the team's 29 games and stayed the whole season, this amounted to 115 three pointers in total in only two months. That's a lot for a man who shot only 51 in total in 4 years at Clemson. And the 29.6% conversion rate doesn't seem to justify it. Before that, Mays was playing in China, where he averaged 26.0ppg and 13.2rpg for Shougang while shooting 44% from three on four attempts per game. Mays has always preferred to face the basket, and is a talented face-up passer, yet perhaps the reason for his new-found three point affinity has something to do with the torn achilles tendon that caused him to miss almost all of the 2008-09 season. That can cripple a man's athleticism.

James Mays - 25 games, 33.4 mpg, 17.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.5 fpg, 1.4 spg, 1.2 spg, 39% FG, 30% 3PT, 64% FT

Humacao were the first of the only two BSN teams to not make the playoffs. If the BSN had a draft lottery like the NBA's, it'd be quite a dull event. They started the year with Mays and Wingate as imports, but, as you can see, Wingate didn't last long. The former Tennessee player arrived after a decent part-season in the D-League with the Springfield Armor, and put up 10/10 in 37 minutes on debut, but then he almost fouled out in only 15 minutes in game two and was released. Meanwhile, Mays put up his usual good numbers across the board, but his scoring efficiency was poor all season. This is mainly because Mays, who has never been a good three point shooter, took five of them a game, attempting one in at least every game he played. And since he played 25 out of the team's 29 games and stayed the whole season, this amounted to 115 three pointers in total in only two months. That's a lot for a man who shot only 51 in total in 4 years at Clemson.

[...] Mays missed a game on May 15th, and ex-NBA big man Jermareo Davidson was brought in to replace him. And when Mays returned in time for the next game, Davidson took the place of Anderson, who did not play for the team again. However, Davidson underperformed, and another ex-NBA player from this past CBA season, Corsley Edwards, filled his role. Edwards averaged 29.3 points, 8.3 points and 2.7 assists in 39 minutes per game in China, shooting 55% from the field, 69% from three point range (somehow) and 78% from the line, leaving only when he broke a finger. Included in there was a 50 point outing and a 47 point outing, and in 15 games he never scored less than 20. He might have done something similar in Puerto Rico had he had more than two games to work with.

- James Mays

Captain Slow started the year in China, and was one of the best players there. In 16 games for Beijing, Mays averaged 26.0 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.9 assists per game, shooting 58% from two point range, 44% from three point range (with more than 2 makes per game) and 58% from the line. However, he was only with the team for a month before being released in late January for reasons I am not aware of. Since then, Mays has gone from being one of the best players in China to being one of the best players in Puerto Rico, averaging 17.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for Humacao.

- James Mays: 33.1mpg, 26.0ppg, 13.2rpg, 1.9apg, 4.1fpg, 2.1spg, 0.8bpg, 54% FG, 44% 3PT, 52% FT (left)

Mays started brilliantly, as you can see, but then left for undisclosed reasons and is currently unsigned.