"Bill Self was my first phone call" - Zeke Mayo opens up on "surreal" interaction with Kansas coach before Jayhawks move

Zeke Mayo, the reigning Summit League player of the year, joined Bill Self's Kansas in April. Mayo played three seasons of college basketball at South Dakota State winning Summit League conference titles twice.

The 6-foot-4 point guard recently sat down with K-Nation's Caroline Soro to discuss his decision to join the Hawkeyes. During the one-on-one interview on Oct. 7, he also reflected on the impact coach Self had on him when the two first met.

"He [Bill Self] was my first phone call which was honestly so surreal," Zeke said. "Once I got home, I took my visit and he pulled me up into his office and we had a long conversation. Later I told him I wanted to come play for the University of Kansas."

The Lawrence, Kansas native also mentioned he felt great to be back in his hometown.

"It feels good, honestly, just to be here and be close to my family and friends," Zeke Mayo said. "But also, to have the opportunity to play for such a prestigious program and head coach, obviously."

Kansas had a subpar season last campaign, finishing fifth in the Big 12 standings and was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Zeke Mayo joined Wisconsin's AJ Storr and Alabama's Rylan Griffen as new additions to the Jayhawks roster.

Bill Self speaks on Zeke Mayo's chances of making starting lineup

With several starters from last season departing, including Johnny Furphy and Kevin McCullar Jr, coach Self has to determine how this season's lineup shapes up.

During an appearance on the Field of 68 podcast in September, the two-time national championship winning coach gave an insight into the team's outlook and addressed the chance of senior Zeke Mayo to be a starter

"I would say it’d be hard to keep Juan, KJ, ‘Hunt’ and Zeke out of the lineup," Self said. "Zeke has been our most consistent, best guy since June in my opinion."

Mayo was impressed by his coach's praise and gave his response during the K-Nation interview.

"Just hearing it from him obviously it means a lot, but I know at the end of the day the job’s not done,” Zeke said. "I’ve got to go out there and compete. I try not to make it all about me but hearing those words it means a lot,"

In his final season in Brookings, Mayo averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game leading the Jackrabbits to the Summit League regular season and tournament titles.