CoachCal.com is starting its annual series of features spotting the latest batch of newcomers to Kentucky’s men’s basketball team. Over the coming weeks, Eric Lindsey will be writing about Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin, Willie Cauley-Stein and Nerlens Noel, but Julius Mays is up first.A member of John Calipari’s fourth incoming class, Mays is a bit different than those than came before him. Like many of his forebears, he will spend only one year in Lexington, but he comes already having played three seasons at the Division I level and graduated from Wright State, the school from which transferred to Kentucky.Over the coming months, we’ll learn plenty more about Mays, but CoachCal.com’s story and accompanying video serve as a good introduction to the senior guard:
While Mays is clearly one of the elder statesmen in terms of age and college experience, he’s just as green as guys like Archie Goodwin and Willie Cauley-Stein when it comes to learning and adapting to Calipari’s unique style and philosophy.As a college veteran, Mays could have used an attitude that he’s been through the wars before and knows how to get by. After all, he’s played in nearly 90 college games and averaged 14.1 points per game last season as a guard at Wright State.Instead, he’s embraced the opportunity he’s been given to play an integral part in Kentucky’s next title run, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to improve his game and fit in with his team, even at the expense of being a 22-year-old “first-year player.”“I feel like to be a great player, you’ve got to be willing to make changes,” Mays said. “Your game is never perfect. The best guys that you’ll hear talk, they’re always changing things. Nothing is ever just great. The greatest player in the game, Michael Jordan, I’m sure he changed things all the time. I don’t feel like it’s difficult with (Calipari) changing things that I’ve been used to. His way might work better. It probably will work better. It never hurts to try something.”
