Rising Prospect: Mayson Quartlebaum (2020)

A rising prospect in the 2020 class, Lawrence wing Mayson Quartlebaum is putting together a big junior season and is drawing attention from college programs. A versatile performer, Quartlebaum is a 6’3 wing player with good size and strong, physical frame. He can post up on the box and score in the paint, but can also step out and knock down 3-pointers. The son of Kansas assistant coach Fred Quartlebaum, Mayson says he takes pride in doing the little things that help a team win. He spent the offseason competing for KC Run GMC and says the experience helped him take his game to new heights. “It (was) a great experience, we’ve played teams from all over country and players that are very good,” Quartlebaum said. “Because of Run I was better prepared for the faster pace of Varsity so I feel like I Transitioned really good. “During the off season i worked on explosiveness and quickness the most, it’s helped a lot because it’s enabled me to switch on players and guard every spot.” Lawrence is off to a big start this season, earning a No. 3 spot in the latest Kansas 6A state rankings. The team features several seniors and several players who are raising their profile at the varsity level. “My high school team is crazy athletic and very skilled,” Quartlebaum says. “Trey (Quartlebaum) and Clarence (King) played on the 17u Run GMC team this past year and Zeke Mayo played on 15s so that should already kinda give you an idea of just how good we are. “And we also have Savonni (Shazor) who is like a mini KD, he’s like 6’6, 6’7 but plays shooting guard. He’s long, great shooter and a defender. Then inside we got Brett (Chapple) and Eric (Galbreath) who are probably the most physical people I’ve ever played against so we never have a problem down low.” Mayson says the biggest influence on his basketball career has been his dad, who played basketball at Fordham is a current assistant at KU. “He’s instilled that will to always compete and work hard at everything I do and it has helped me a lot both on the basketball court and off,” Quartlebaum says. A fan of Golden State guard Klay Thompson, Quartlebaum says he enjoys the way the star player moves without the ball and ability to create shots for himself. “I’m starting to move a lot more without the ball to find my shot or to find a shot for someone else and I feel like watching him do it has helped me,” he says. Quartlebaum doesn’t currently hold any offers, but has drawn interest from several NCAA Division I programs, including Columbia, Wofford, and Delaware. “(Those) are all schools that have a solid chance every year to go to the NCAA tournament so I feel like my AAU team has put me in a great spot to get some offers this upcoming AAU season,” Quartlebaum said.