Nikole DeWitt

Once again, we are honored to announce @tkelce as our Walter Payton Man of the Year Club Winner 👏 RT to vote for him in the #WPMOYChallenge presented by @nationwide!

It always fills me with great pride to watch our student-athletes impact others from their platform and last night I got a special glimpse of that from @zekexmayo. I had a pleasure of giving a postgame tour to our #KUCancerFighter family of the day, the Jowler Family of Inman, KS. Korbyn is one of 3 kids whose sweet Mom, Ashley, is battling cancer. Korbyn accompanied his parents on the tour and got to meet one his heroes, Zeke Mayo. Knowing that Korbyn wants to follow in Zeke’s footsteps as a Kansas kid who one day plays for the Jayhawks, I asked Zeke to share some wisdom on what it might take fulfill such a dream. To be fair, I gave Zeke zero advance notice and truly put him on the spot with the question but he handled it like such a pro. Zeke got down and looked Korbyn squarely in the eyes and said, “Always remember that where you start doesn’t have to be where you finish. You can come from a small town or far away place and still finish where you dream, so long as you’re willing to put in the work. I’m not just talking about work on the court, either. In order to be the best basketball player you can be, it starts with being the best son and big brother you can be. Always listen to your parents, strive to set a good example, work hard in school and try to get better each day with that same end goal in mind. Do all that and you can absolutely live that dream.” Korbyn hung on each & every word. His parents and I were all speechless too. Tremendous advice from the young man who just hung 23 on the Sun Devils, and then provided some life-changing motivation & inspiration to one of the youngest fans in attendance (not to mention, a great diversion from the cancer battle for Korbyn’s mother). Good for you, Zeke. Your 5 threes last night had us all on our feet, but your inspiring words after made many Mayo fans for life. Rock Chalk! #kubball