Former KU hoops star Zeke Mayo’s Roundball Classic debut made for special night
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- Zeke Mayo returned to Lawrence to play in the 18th Rock Chalk RoundBall Classic.
- Mayo scored 25 points and led the Blue Team to a 110-108 win over the Reds.
- Majority of proceeds went to the event’s five spotlighted cancer patients.
Kansas Jayhawks basketball players, fans, and alumni flocked to Lawrence Free State High School on Thursday night for the 18th annual Rock Chalk RoundBall Classic, a charity game benefitting Lawrence-area children who are battling cancer.
For former KU hoops star Zeke Mayo, the chance to participate in an event he attended while growing up in Lawrence was too good to pass up.
“It’s special, especially just because this is where I’m from,” he said. “I’ve always shown up here as a fan, but now, to be a KU alum, it means something.”
Stepping onto the court in front of a sold-out crowd, the former Lawrence High star enjoyed hearing some cheers directed his way inside the Free State gym: He spent his high school years playing for the rival Chesty Lions.
The schools’ “City Showdown” is one of the fiercest rivalries in Kansas high school basketball.
“It feels good,” Mayo said. “This gym is obviously a rival, but it just feels good to come back here and be one of the good guys.”
With the crowd at Free State rooting him on, the former Direnna Award winner scored 25 points to lead the Blue Team — coached by Brooklyn Nets guard and former Oak Park High/KU standout Ochai Agbaji — to a 110-108 win over the Red Team.
The Red squad was coached by Denver Nuggets forward and former Blue Valley Northwest/KU star Christian Braun.
The game came down to the final seconds. KU alum Travis Releford, another Kansas City native, sank the winning four-point shot for the Blue Team just before the buzzer sounded.
Alongside Mayo, Utah Jazz guard Svi Mykhailiuk scored 19 points for the Blues while former NCAA and NBA champion Brandon Rush led the Reds with 25.
After the game, players and coaches gathered at midcourt to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. A raffle for signed jerseys from the players was played over the PA system, as well.
A majority of the proceeds from the night’s festivities go to the event’s “starting five” — five cancer patients ages 2-15 who were spotlighted for this year’s event.
That deeper importance of the Roundball Classic was not lost on Mayo. His father, Reggie Mayo, won a battle with acute myeloid leukemia earlier this year.
“This isn’t really for us (the players),” Mayo said. “It’s for the kids to raise money, to help with their treatment and stuff. So it feels good to come out here and play for them.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Former KU hoops star Zeke Mayo’s Roundball Classic debut made for special night."