North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Mays Provides Boost off the Bench
1/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Raleigh, N.C. - It's been said that starting matters most to moms and girlfriends, otherwise, it's overrated.
The way Julius Mays has performed as the Wolfpack's back-up point guard lately, even some girlfriends might agree.
"I don't find [starting] to be that big of a deal," said Mays, who has averaged 11.8 points over NC State's last four games. "Me being the sixth man, I just like to come off the bench and give our team a spark. I try to pick us up if we're down or if we're up, just try to keep us going."
While junior Javier Gonzalez has continued to be NC State's starting point guard, Mays has actually played more minutes than Gonzalez in three of the last four games. Coming off the bench, he says, actually has its benefits.
"You get to see what the defense is doing and see what's open and what's not open," said Mays, junior from Marion, Indiana. "The first few minutes when you are watching from the bench, it is kind of an advantage."
Coming out of preseason practice, it was clear that Gonzalez had won the starting position at the point. He further strengthened his hold on that spot by playing extremely well earlier in the season. Gonzalez posted back-to-back 18 point games against Wake Forest and Arizona back in December, while Mays saw his minutes off the bench dwindle. But proving once again things can change quickly in college basketball, the shoe has been on the other foot recently.
"We push each other every day in practice," Mays said of his daily competition with Gonzalez. "We never really take a day off and we go at each other really hard. Javier played really well earlier in the season, now my play is starting to pick-up. I just think it comes from us being competitive in practice."
In games against Florida State and Clemson last week, Mays scored in double-figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his college career. Just as importantly, he took care of the basketball against two very good defensive teams. Not withering in the face of Clemson's relentless fullcourt pressure, he had just two turnovers in 31 minutes.
And perhaps most notably, he's stabilized NC State's inconsistent free throw shooting by knocking down 18 in a row over the last two games, including 10-of-10 in the victory over the Seminoles.
"I just block the crowd and everyone else out," Mays said. "I just pretend it's like being in the backyard or the gym all by myself and stay in my routine."
Although one year older, Mays was a high school teammate of freshman Scott Wood at Marion in Indiana. The two have played a lot of basketball together, but Mays admits he's probably never seen Wood as hot as he was when he scored 31 points with seven 3-pointers last week in Tallahassee.
"I don't think I have," said Mays. "Maybe in summer ball, but that game down there is the first time I've seen him roll like that. In high school he was a guy who'd catch and shoot, but against Florida State he was catching and shooting and pulling up off the dribble. I think that's the best I've seen Scott play."
Just like head coach Sidney Lowe, Mays is still waiting for the Wolfpack to put together a full 40-minute game. Against Clemson on Saturday, the Pack fell behind by 21 points in the first half before eventually crawling back to within one-point in a 73-70 loss to the Tigers. Mays says one half of ineffective basketball against 7th ranked Duke on Wednesday night at the RBC Center simply won't get it done.
"It's not possible to beat a team like Duke without putting a full game together," Mays said. "If we come out like we did against Clemson, I think it will be 10 times harder to come back from a big deficit against Duke because once they get you down they know how to keep you there."
