Chants of Zeke Mayo’s name emerged in Allen Fieldhouse as the hometown kid led the Jayhawks in scoring in his official debut for Kansas. Mayo dropped 19 points as Kansas opened its season with an 87-57 win over Howard.

“Yeah of course I heard that, they were pretty loud,” Mayo said of the chants. “It’s a blessing to be out here and play with these guys and wear this across my chest. Obviously like I said, I love being out there with my teammates and playing in front of, you know, 15, 16,000.”

Mayo was brought in to fill the needed void of a three-point shooter after Kansas struggled in that area last season. He quickly garnered hype as one of the Jayhawks’ better off-season additions and has showcased his ability to knock down shots in practice.

“He gets scorching hot, like you know when you turn on the stove and you accidentally put it on high and touch it on accident, it’s kinda like how he is,” Hunter Dickinson said.

The Lawrence native hit five of his eight threes, two off a career-high. Bill Self said he has a beautiful shooting form and needs to continue to be an assertive scorer.

“I think he’s reluctant to shoot sometimes, but I thought tonight he was, and the other game he was more aggressive shooting the ball,” Self said. “I like it. He’s a weapon out there. He can knock it down.”

Mayo was initially placed in the starting lineup in the Jayhawks’ first exhibition against Arkansas. He struggled in that game and has come off the bench both against Washburn and Howard. Mayo said his mindset hasn’t changed regardless of the role he’s played.

“For me, it’s not about who starts or who finishes,” Mayo said. “It’s just, you know, I’m blessed to get the opportunity to be in the game, so I think my only job is to go out there and take advantage of that. It’s not necessarily a mindset. I just go out there and play basketball.”

Kansas’ offseason additions have created a roster with a much stronger offense than last year. The Jayhawks have capable scorers from the outside and multiple bench options capable of providing a spark.

The added offense and athleticism also allowed the Jayhawks to play with a high pace. Kansas finished with 23 fastbreak points, with Mayo being one of multiple players able to get Kansas into its offense quickly along with hitting a three in transition.

“Coach preaches a lot of pace within our offense,” Mayo said. “It’s not just transition. It’s also when we’re in the flow of the game and running our sets. We try to run everything to score… I think that’s something that we, you know, looked good at doing here tonight.”