James Dixon Mays (born March 8, 1986) is an American-born naturalized Central African professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for

Shandong Heroes Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin () is a Chinese professional basketball team based in Jinan, Shandong, which plays in the Northern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Some home games are held in the nearby city of Linyi. The Hi-Speed ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

. He represented the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

at the

2011 FIBA Africa Championship AfroBasket 2011 was the 26th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the basketball sport governing body, and the African zone thereof. At stake is the berth allocated to Africa in th ...

High school

Mays averaged 20.1 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and two assists per game for Garner High in 2003–04. He shot a strong 54.3 percent from the field that year when he led Garner to the conference championship. A McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior, he was also named MVP of his conference and to the all-conference team. He played in the North Carolina vs. South Carolina High School All-Star game where he played against Clemson classmate Sam Perry. Perry was the top scorer, but Mays was named the MVP. Along with that, he also played in the East vs. West North Carolina Coaches Association All-Star game in July. He scored a season high 30 points against East Wake High School as a senior, but he had a 36-point game as a junior against Southeast Raleigh for his career high. In his junior year, he scored 19.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.

College

Freshman

Mays started eight of the 32 games in which he appeared. Averaged 4.3 points and better than one steal per game.

Sophomore

Started all 11 games in which he appeared. (Mays was ruled academically ineligible for the second semester). The Tigers posted an 11–0 mark with Mays, and managed just an 8–13 record in his stead. Averaged 9.2 points and a career-best 7.6 rebounds. Posted 19 points and seven rebounds against South Carolina.

Junior

Mays posted career-bests in points (12.2 ppg), assists (2.7 apg) and steals (1.9 spg); also averaged 6.4 rebounds. Set Clemson single-season records for assists (95) and steals (69) for a frontcourt player. Posted eight double-digit rebounding efforts and seven point-rebound double-doubles. Exemplified his balanced play with an 18-point, nine-rebound, four-assist, five-steal, two-block effort against Monmouth.

Senior

Fought through a rash of injuries to finish second on the team in rebounds per game, third in steals, while posting a double-digit scoring average. Named to the ACC-All Tournament Second Team after helping the Tigers reach the title game. Led Clemson in rebounding 10 times. Recorded a career-high six steals in a season-opening win against Furman. Tallied a season-high 20 points in a comeback, road win at Maryland. Suffered a broken hand against North Carolina but still produced nine points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Professional career

2008–09 season

Mays was not selected during the 2008 NBA draft. He started his professional career with the

Colorado 14ers Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

of the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

2009–10 season

Mays signed with the

Beijing Ducks The Beijing Shougang Ducks (''simplified Chinese'': 北京首钢鸭俱乐部篮球队), also known as Beijing Shougang or Beijing Ducks, are a professional basketball team based in Beijing, China, which plays in the North Division of the Chi ...

of the

(CBA) for the 2009–10 season. In 2010, Mays signed with

Caciques de Humacao Caciques de Humacao was a professional basketball team based in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The club competed in the National Superior Basketball (, BSN). History In 2010, Antonio "Tonin" Casillas, owner of the Grises de Humacao, decided to give the f ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

(BtN), Puerto Rico's top-flight basketball league.

2010–11 season

Mays signed with

Oyak Renault Oyak Renault is a professional basketball club based in Bursa, Turkey that plays in the Turkish Basketball League (TBL). Their home arena is the Bursa Atatürk Sport Hall. The club has played in this league between 1982–1984, 1992–2000, 2001� ...

of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

(TBL).

2011–12 season

On July 2, 2011, he signed with Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. in Turkey. With Mersin, he averaged 17.2 points per game, 9 rebounds per game, 2.2 steals per game, and 1 block per game. On May 17, 2011, Mays went to Puerto Rico for the second time, this time signing with

Capitanes de Arecibo The Capitanes de Arecibo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Arecibo that competes in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league. In 2010, the team also had the distinction to play in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) u ...

. He replaced forward/center

Ike Diogu Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela. Family and early life Diogu's parents, natives of Nige ...

2012–13 season

Mays began the 2012–13 season with the

Springfield Armor Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queensl ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. On February 4, 2013, Mays was named to the Prospects All-Star roster for the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On February 10, 2013, Mays was traded to the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

for

Kris Joseph Kristopher Carlos Joseph (born December 17, 1988) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Ottawa Blackjacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He played for the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team from 2008 to 2012. He ...

. On February 26, 2013, Mays was traded to the Sioux Falls Skyforce in exchange for Gabe Pruitt.

2013–14 season

James Mays signed as import of San Mig Super Coffee Mixers ongoing Commissioners Cup conference. After struggling early on in the conference, he managed to step his game up a notch to help the Coffee Mixers clinch the title, and their 3rd straight championship as well.

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Mays signed with Enel Brindisi of

Lega Serie A The Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A (Italian for ''National Professionals League Serie A''), commonly known as LNPA or Lega Serie A (Serie A League), is the governing body that runs the major professional Association football, football com ...

. In 2015, Mays signed with the

Shaanxi Wolves The Shaanxi Xinda Wolves are a Chinese professional men's basketball club based in Weinan, Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, ...

of National Basketball League of China, the second tier basketball league in China. In September 2015, he helped Shaanxi Wolves win its first NBL championship.

2015–16 season

On October 2, 2015, he signed with Al Shabab of the United Arab Emirates D1.

2017–18 season

He played in the summer of 2017 at Guizhou in the NBL. In January 2018, he signed with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles of the CBA.

2018–19 season

On August 31, 2018, Mays signed with

Changwon LG Sakers Changwon LG Sakers are a basketball team located in the city of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. They play in the Korean Basketball League, and their home arena is Changwon Gymnasium which has a capacity for approximately 6,000 ...

of the Korean league.

References

External links

Real GM profile

Turkish League profile

Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mays, James 1986 births Living people Centers (basketball) American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in the United Arab Emirates American men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Beijing Ducks players Caciques de Humacao players Changwon LG Sakers players Clemson Tigers men's basketball players Colorado 14ers players Daegu KOGAS Pegasus players Magnolia Hotshots players Maine Red Claws players Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. players New Basket Brindisi players Oyak Renault basketball players People from Garner, North Carolina Philippine Basketball Association imports Power forwards (basketball) Qingdao Eagles players Sioux Falls Skyforce players Springfield Armor players Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin players