Clyde Clauthen Mayes Jr. (born March 17, 1953) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played in both the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) and in Europe for various teams. His international career took him to Italy, France and Spain over the course of 12 years. At tall and weighing 225 pounds, Mayes primarily played the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

position.

Basketball career

College

Mayes grew up in

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

and played basketball at Wade Hampton High School in his hometown. In the fall of 1971, Mayes enrolled at

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

, also located in Greenville.

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) rules at the time prohibited college

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...

from competing on their schools' varsity sports teams, so Mayes had to play for the Furman freshman basketball team. When he became eligible during his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

season in 1972–73, Mayes ended up playing in 29 games while averaging 15.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. The

Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...

finished as the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

regular season runners-up (to Davidson) but won the Southern Conference Tournament championship. They qualified for the

1973 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1973 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA University Division (now Division I, created later in 1973) college basketball. It ...

but lost to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

in the first round, 83–82. The following season, Mayes was the star on a team that finished 22–9, including 11–1 in conference play, en route to conference regular season and tournament championships. He averaged 17.3 points and 13.0 rebounds on the year, and Furman would once again qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They finished in fourth place in the East Region, losing to

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, 95–83, to end their season, after losing to Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) in the Sweet 16, 81–78. After the season, Mayes was honored as the Southern Conference Player of the Year. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1974–75, Mayes led the Paladins to second and third consecutive conference regular season and tournament championships, respectively, as well as a third straight NCAA Tournament berth (they lost in the second round to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

). Furman compiled a 22–7 overall record, including a perfect 12–0 conference record. In the 2009 book, ''ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game'', the 1974–75 team was named the best in the program's history. It was led by Mayes, who repeated at the Southern Conference Player of the Year and also honored as a Third Team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He averaged 21.1 points and 13.5 rebounds for the year, but he also had a stellar supporting cast. Fessor "Moose" Leonard was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

who averaged 15.5 points per game, and Craig Lynch provided a strong defensive presence. The personal accolades for Mayes kept coming, as he was named the Southern Conference Athlete of the Year, which is an award given to an athlete in the conference irrespective of sport or season. In 2010, ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' listed Mayes as one of the five best men's basketball players in the Southern Conference during the 1970s.

Professional

After Mayes' collegiate career ended, the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

selected him as the 22nd overall pick in the

1975 NBA draft The 1975 NBA draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 29, 1975, before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

. He played in 65 games for the Bucks as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

in . Just prior to the start of the season he was waived. For the remainder of the season, Mayes was temporarily signed and released by three different teams—the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

and

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

—and appeared in no more than five games for any of them. He decided that he would have greater success overseas, and so starting in the 1977–78 basketball season Mayes found himself playing in Italy. Over the course of the next 12 seasons, Mayes played for teams in Italy, France and Spain. In 1983–84 he was named an All-Star in

Legadue Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with ...

while playing for Alpe Bergamo.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 65 , , 14.6 , , .460 , , .577 , , 4.0 , , .6 , , .1 , , .6 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 2 , , 10.0 , , .429 , , .250 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 3.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Buffalo , 2 , , 3.5 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 5 , , 4.8 , , .222 , , – , , 1.2 , , .0 , , .0 , , .4 , , .8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 74 , , 13.5 , , .446 , , .567 , , 3.8 , , .5 , , .1 , , .6 , , 4.0

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 13.7 , , .200 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.7

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, Clyde 1953 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Buffalo Braves players Furman Paladins men's basketball players Indiana Pacers players Liga ACB players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players Power forwards Basketball players from Greenville, South Carolina Valencia Basket players