Mayoum, Calderon Add To Infusion Of Star Power At Potter’s House

Mayoum Mayoum was full throttle in the first half, soaring past unsuspecting defenders and crunching home extravagant, violent two-handed dunks. Shredding through defenders and finishing eye-widening and athletic plays capable of jolting any gym into a frenzy, Mayoum put forth an electric and efficient account of himself.

With a sea of onlookers slowly gathering at McEachern high school event in Georgia, Mayoum soared to the tune of five first half dunks.

One Big 12 coach, who had been traipsing the sidelines throughout the first half, had seen enough. As he made his way to the exit sign, the coach deadpanned, "No point in watching the second half, there may not even be a rim to keep playing the game on."

This was back at April, at an event run by On The Radar Hoops' Shun Williams. The scene was quite emblematic of the freakish finishes and ferocious above the rim game Mayoum brings.

A year after breaking out at DME Academy in Daytona Beach, the Class of 2020 Mayoum will now infect head coach Steve McLaughlin's lineup with dazzling displays of athleticism at Potter's House Christian Academy in Jacksonville. Mayoum is the latest in a number of highly touted recruits to transfer to the once prosperous SIAA program, which continues to generate headlines this off-season.

"His mentality and energy are vital to our program," explained assistant coach Nick Couluris, who was instrumental in the recruitment of the high-octane 6-foot-4 guard.

"His mentality and energy are vital to our program. He's a dog. He sets the tone on days we're sluggish. He brings relentlessness. There's no quit in that kid. Everyone sees the raw ability that he possesses and his 44 inch vertical, but what they don't see is how hard he works. We allowed him this first April live period to showcase that with Showtime Hoops, 1Family. We then shut it down for him for the summer, kept him in the gym and worked on his skill development. His shot has improved by leaps and bounds. He's a completely different player."

Another aspect of Mayoum's game which has rapidly evolved is his handle. Though he was often barreling to the rim and finishing in wildly athletic fashion last season, he's worked at developing the handle and breaking down defenders off the dribble.

As he inherits the role of primary ball handler, he'll need to have the ball on a string by the time the winter rolls around. He's additionally made strides in developing a dependable 3-point shot. If his shot consistency in games can mirror the adroit touch he's displayed during extra hours in the gym, the summer workload will have matriculated.

The onus is on Mayoum to set his own mark and enforce it on the defensive end, where he has the athleticism and know-how to be a real ball hawk this season.

"We want to make our mark on the defensive end, and he sets the tone there," Couluris explained. "He's our rah rah guy. He makes his living right now defensively and then spurts here and there on the offensive end with high energy, highlight plays. He knows the improvements he needs to make to play high major basketball and he's been in the gym, putting in long hours towards making that a reality."

The Lions picked up another high level Division-I prospect and another transfer from DME Academy in 6-foot-6 Keano Calderon.

A relentless finisher who is constantly in attack mode, Calderon provides another superior finisher who can dunk through traffic and turn in athletic plays.

He's made strides at developing a motor and utilizing the sustained relentlessness on both ends of the floor. Florida Atlantic, Canisius, North Florida, Stetson, UNC-Asheville and several others have offered the rapidly rising Class of 2020 recruit.

Playing alongside high major prospect Diante Smith with Showtime Hoops this summer, Calderon rose from obscurity. He displayed an innate nose for the rim and aesthetic open court finishing ability. With his vertical explosiveness and ability to handle the ball, Calderon has a beyond his years game that aligns with what the Division-I level prioritizes out of 6-foot-6, multi-positional prospects like himself.

The most recent new blood is part of the tremendous recruiting coup Potter's House has pulled off this summer. Prior to these pieces, they continued the SIAA conference's potent tradition of stellar guard and wing play by getting highly-touted Massachuetts guard Taelon Martin and a matchup headache in Tomasi Gilgeous-Alexander.

Auburn appears to be the highest on the upside-heavy Mayoum. Virginia, which saw Calderon a handful of times over the summer, has been in persistent pursuit and should plunk down a scholarship offer shortly.