A Standout Sharpshooter in High School, Austin Mays now Coaching for NC State University as Graduate Assistant
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
Austin Mays was an immensely talented basketball player when he took the court for Woodruff High from 2011-14.
Mays, who is second on the Wolverines’ all-time three-point shooting list, schooled opponents on a nightly basis as he averaged over 17 points per game as a senior while draining 64 three-pointers. Now, he is instilling his knowledge of the game to new generations of players as a rising star in the collegiate coaching ranks.
Coaching was not the career Mays envisioned as a high school player, but it has become a passionate calling for the former Woodruff sharpshooter.
“I never had the thought of coaching at first,” said Mays. “I started pursuing coaching once I realized I had the knack for developing basketball players by providing on-court skill sessions and using that time to build a relationship with them.”
Mays, called “Rudy” by his high school friends and teammates, recently accepted a position as a graduate assistant for the North Carolina State University Wolfpack in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the premier collegiate basketball conference in the country.
It is the latest stop along the career path that Mays has chosen, which has taken him to numerous destinations already, even a stop abroad.
Mays began his career at USC Upstate, working with the Spartans as a student assistant while coaching high school players on the AAU circuit at Spartanburg’s Upward Stars Center during the offseason. He credits his time at USC Upstate, from 2017-20, for helping him prove himself as a young coach.
“Upstate was unique because it taught me how to hold myself accountable,” he said. “I was put in a situation where I had to show that I could be trustworthy, which was a learning path of its own because I had to step outside my comfort zone and teach myself to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.”
After graduating in 2020, Mays began coaching for the Upward Stars full-time, first with the 16U program in 2020 and the 17U circuit in 2021. His efforts and skill at teaching the game earned the attention of established coaches in Canada, and in 2021 Mays accepted an assistant coaching position at Orangeville Prep in Mono, Ontario, Canada.
It was a unique opportunity for Mays and one that has greatly propelled his career forward.
“Overseeing the development of the players (at Upward Stars), I learned how to build bonds while maximizing their full potential,” Mays stated. “Over time, I started gaining recognition in my work while seeing the improvement with the players I was working with. In 2021, I accepted an assistant coach position at Orangeville Prep. During my time there, I had the opportunity to be on the BioSteel All-Canadian coaching staff, being the second American coach to do it. Canada was unique to me because it was one of the biggest decisions I’ve made. I was going to start a new life in a new country to continue my coaching journey. I never knew the game would put me in a position to do so. It taught me how to be patient and never give up.”
While in Canada, Mays even had to learn different aspects of the game that he had never needed to put into practice in the United States. There, the game is played with international rules, and while similar, the aspects of basketball that differed from what is played in the states was a new experience for Mays.
“The uniqueness about coaching in another country was the diversity, the way basketball is taught, and the culture,” he explained.
“The biggest difference for me was they use international rules. It made the games more interesting due to all the different talent there.”
After only one season at Orangeville Prep, yet another opportunity arose for Mays, and it was one he could not pass up. Through his friend and former Dorman High School star Carlos Dotson, who currently works for the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA, Mays met NC State assistant coach Kareem Richardson. Richardson was impressed with Mays’ body of work and offered him a role as a graduate assistant for the Wolfpack.
“My opportunity arose at NC State after Carlos accepted a position with the Charlotte Hornets, and I so happened to be in contact with Coach Kareem Richardson, and we got it rolling after that,” said Mays. “Having this opportunity to coach at this level has been nothing but special. Every day is a different learning experience. The coaching staff is elite and holds so much versatility. It’s a great feeling to have a group like we have to get knowledge from.”
Mays loves the game of basketball, he wants others to love the game, and his knowledge is now what he wants to impart on other up-and-coming stars just like he was for the Wolverines years ago.
It might not be the career path he initially chose, but it is one that Mays is excited to be traveling. No pun intended.
Added Mays, “A few of the biggest lessons I want to instill in the players I coach is to work hard, be willing to accept criticism, build your network, and never stop learning.”
Author: Tracy Sanders
