At least not on varsity and not at the 4A level.
But there's already a solid case being presented that Hough High's Maye isn't your typical high school basketball rookie.
"He's the best freshman that I've coached against," says former Hopewell High coach Eric Davis, whose West Brunswick team lost to Maye and Hough 60-53 last Wednesday. "His skill set is really good for a ninth grader."
In 11 years as a varsity head coach, Davis has faced freshmen who have gone on to play at the major college and professional level. He told his West Brunswick players after last week's game that they had just played against a major college recruit, who is only beginning his prep career.
"He plays like a senior," says Davis. "He's just so composed on the floor. It's amazing to me."
Maye scored 25 points, had 18 rebounds and blocked four shots against Davis' Trojans. That performance followed a 19-point, 14-rebound, three-block effort in the Huskies' 85-80 season-opening win over Independence Nov. 21.
"It's been fun," says Maye. "I've just been playing basketball, just like always. Basketball is fun, and it's fun when you win, too."
Maye comes from an athletic bloodline. He's the oldest of the four sons of Mark and Aimee Maye. Mark Maye starred at Independence High before playing quarterback at the University of North Carolina from 1984-87, where his name still routinely appears in the top 10 of the Tar Heel record book. Aimee Maye, formerly Aimee Sockwell, was a high school basketball star at West Charlotte and county player of the year at about the same time.
Hough coach Justin Batts says Maye is not only showing his talent on the court and with his exceptional ball-handling and coordination, but that he has the charisma and confidence to lead as a freshman, something that he says is noteworthy in its own right.
"He's a hard-working kid, a yes-sir, no-sir kid, and he wants to get better," says Batts. "You can tell he works on his game all the time."
Davis first saw Luke Maye in Huskies' black before a team camp game at West Brunswick during the summer. Maye was warming up and shot 10 straight three-pointers without missing. Davis assumed he was one of Hough's veteran players and had to be convinced that Maye had actually never played a high school game.
In last week's matchup, Davis' athletic team tried a little bit of everything to stop Maye. But the 6-foot-6 post man showed his versatility by bringing the ball up court, getting offensive rebounds, hitting back-to-back deep threes and scoring in the paint. Regardless of who was guarding Maye, he caused a mismatch with either his size or quickness, and Davis' Trojans didn't have an answer.
"It's all my kids have talked about," says Davis.
During the game with West Brunswick, Maye scored 12 of Hough's 16 third-quarter points, and including that production, scored 15 of 19 Hough points during a stretch of the second half.
Maye, who towered over everyone while playing at Bailey Middle last year, says he's finding out what it's like to play against players who are his size or at least close to it.
"It's been an adjustment," he says. "I gotta keep playing hard and do what it takes to help my team."
Batts said prior to the season that Maye was "somebody you model and build your program around." Already with Maye and the improvement of some returning players, the Huskies have made noticeable strides. They are well on their way to matching and surpassing last year's win total (5), and Maye is excited about the possibility of what Hough can accomplish on the team level.
"We're going to be tough this year," says Maye. "We'll keep building over the years, and I think we'll be a great team in the years to come."
