Photo Essay: The Rise of Dante Mayo

Emma Tyser, Photo Editor • January 30, 2024

During the 10th game of the season against John F. Kennedy High School, senior Dante Mayo Jr. racked up his one-thousandth career point on his 30th point of the game. In a win-favored season, the team has persevered through many challenging games, with Mayo dribbling his way to the top in every one. Within the week Mayo also landed a spot on The Washington Post’s Players of the Week list, featured in the Post’s weekly High school basketball notes article.

Emma Tyser, Photo Editor

(Emma Tyser)

Starting from the age 5, senior Dante Mayo Jr. has been in love with basketball, drawing inspiration from his dad and his mom who bought him his first mini hoop. From ages 5 to 8, he played for his local recreational team. At 9 he joined his first club team, Germantown Heat until his sophomore year when he joined Inspire Elite Adidas Gold, where he still plays.
(Emma Tyser)

Dante Mayo steps back to strategize his next move at RM’s home game against John F. Kennedy High School. In the final minute, Mayo scored his and the team’s last 3 pointer of the game, overtaking Kennedy for the lead.
(Emma Tyser)

Since his freshman year, Mayo has secured a spot on the varsity team at every tryout. Different than his rec. teams, playing for the high school team “feels like more of a family than the club, because we all go to the same school and we spend a lot of time together each day during the season,” Mayo said. Throughout the season the team has traveled far and wide to tournaments and showcases, building their bond even stronger than the average team. “A lot of us have been friends since the beginning. We have such a great relationship and this makes our chemistry better too, which is why I love playing with this team so much,” he said.
(Emma Tyser)

As the game comes to a close, Mayo seeks advice from his coach, and RM faculty member, David Breslaw.
(Emma Tyser)

With tensions high and the clock ticking down, Mayo scans the court in effort to plan his next moves.
(Emma Tyser)

A lot different than rec teams, playing for the high school presents a fun, and close-knit atmosphere for its athletes. For Mayo, he has been not only playing with most of these people for his whole life, but he has also been friends with them and that makes the bond of the team that much better. Whether it is on the court during practice or going out to lunch, Dante always enjoys time spent with the team.
(Emma Tyser)

With under 4 minutes left in the game, Mayo dribbles around the defender in search of an open pass to score another point for RM.

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About the Contributor

Emma Tyser, Sports Writer

Junior Emma Tyser is a beat writer for underrepresented sports at RM. She has previous experience in creative writing, and is currently copy editor for the schools yearbook. Besides writing, she is either on the track or spending time with her family.

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Photo Essay: The Rise of Dante Mayo

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