Players

Derrick Mayes

Year Inducted: 2003

Category: Players

Schools / Organizations: 
Elgin High School
Illinois State University

Biography: 

Derrick Mayes was a two-year starter at Elgin High School and a four-year letterman at Illinois State University. He captained the Elgin team as a senior and earned all-state honors as he averaged 21.9 points for a 21-4 team that won its first undefeated Upstate 8 Conference championship. Mayes’ 549 points broke the then-school record set by NBA standout Flynn Robinson. He only had 24 turnovers in 25 games and was the Upstate 8’s top rebounding guard. He was named outstanding player in the Class AA IBCA All-Star Game, was named Elgin Courier Player of the Year and received all-state honors from the Associated Press, Chicago Daily News and Chicago Tribune.

At Illinois State University, Mayes started every game in his final three seasons. At the time of his graduation, he was third in career assists (506) and 14th in scoring (1,390 points) and was first in minutes played per game in a season (37.4), sixth in career assists per game (4.5), seventh in career double-digit scoring games (71) and seventh in field goals made (592).

ISU made two National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances during Mayes’ career. As a senior co-captain, he led the team in scoring (19.8 ppg) and assists (5.4 apg) and set the school record for minutes played (1,122) as ISU went 22-4 and reached the NIT quarterfinals.

He was the final cut of the 1979 Milwaukee Bucks.