As Andrew Wiggins became a teenage basketball phenomenon, there was another potential star by his side: Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

Among the many times they were on the court together, Wiggins and Rathan-Mayes helped lead Canada in summer, 2012, to a bronze at the under-18 FIBA Americas tournament, Wiggins sinking 15.2 points a game, Rathan-Mayes right behind at 14.8.

Their ascent in basketball, however, split the next summer, when Wiggins began his one year of college ball at the University of Kansas. Rathan-Mayes had to sit out his freshman season at Florida State University, ruled academically ineligible.

Story continues below advertisement

In a winter of exile, attending school but unable to practise with his teammates, Rathan-Mayes worked with a Florida State staffer to hone his body and game, in the gym several times a day, starting before dawn at 5 a.m. Wiggins starred at Kansas and was picked first in the NBA draft last June.

Wiggins is on his way to rookie of the year. Rathan-Mayes seeks basketball redemption.

"The tough times that I've gone through have made me a better person and a better player today," Rathan-Mayes said in a phone interview from Tallahassee, Fla., earlier this month.

Since he was a boy, Rathan-Mayes was known as a big-talking ace shooter, but his game has been remade at Florida State. He plays point guard and leads the team in scoring and assists, thrust into the primary role after the team's best player, junior Aaron Thomas, was declared ineligible to play in December.

The process has been erratic. Florida State is 15-12 in the difficult Atlantic Coast Conference but there's a shot to make a run and upend big names in their final four games, starting with a road trip on Sunday to conference rival University of Virginia, the country's No. 2-ranked team.

Contests against the best teams in college hoops have been both a showcase and a struggle. In a Jan. 24 game at the University of North Carolina, Rathan-Mayes poured in 35 points against the No. 15-ranked team as Florida State lost by four to the Tar Heels. The 35 points were the most scored by a Canadian in the NCAA this season and the most scored against the Tar Heels in North Carolina in nearly nine years.

But on Feb. 9, at home against No. 4 Duke, Rathan-Mayes had one assist and five points on two-of-seven shooting in a three-point loss.

Story continues below advertisement

"We definitely can put together a little resume to give ourselves a chance," said Rathan-Mayes of Florida State's long odds to make the NCAA tournament in March. The team needs big-time upsets. They also play host to No. 12 Louisville on Feb. 28. In one ESPN ranking, Florida State is 115th, winless in seven games against top 50 teams, even though they've been close.

While Rathan-Mayes disappeared from the attention of most people, CBC Sports cited him as an "under the radar freshman" last fall.

His coach, Leonard Hamilton, sees the confidence Rathan-Mayes has long exuded. "He believes in himself almost [to] a fault," Hamilton told reporters after Rathan-Mayes hit a game-winner against Georgia Tech last weekend. "He doesn't lack for confidence."

Tony McIntyre, co-founder of CIA Bounce, the elite Toronto-area club, remembers first seeing Rathan-Mayes around age 10, when Xavier played for Scarborough Blues and McIntyre's son, Tyler Ennis, played for Bounce.

"Great shooter," said McIntyre of his first impression. "On the court with the other team, he's a guy you wouldn't like. If he plays for you, he hits big shots and he talks a little bit – but he's a great kid."

For the 2010-11 high school season, Rathan-Mayes played basketball for a team in North Carolina run by Toronto's Ro Russell, connected with the Christian Faith Center Academy. Several players eventually ran into NCAA Division I eligibility problems, but others did not. Rathan-Mayes thereafter joined Wiggins at a prep school in West Virginia for his last two years of high school – and also joined CIA Bounce.

Story continues below advertisement

In a 2012 CBC the fifth estate documentary on Russell that investigated lax standards and questionable academics, Rathan-Mayes was interviewed and said: "Basketball was everything. That's all we did. School was there but it was basically basketball, nothing else."

Today, however, he expresses no outward ill will – the opposite, in fact. "I'm thankful," said the 20-year-old Rathan-Mayes. "Without those experiences, I don't think I'd be the man I am today."

Rathan-Mayes had known Wiggins since the boys were young – their fathers had both played at Florida State at different times – Mitch Wiggins and Tharon Mayes are two of the best players in school history – and were briefly on the Philadelphia 76ers together in the early 1990s. Both thereafter played in Europe. On CIA Bounce and national teams, the strong bond grew between Wiggins, Rathan-Mayes and Ennis, who was drafted No. 20 by Phoenix last June.

"Everyone has their own path," Rathan-Mayes said. "I'm proud of those guys. Those are my two best friends in the world. These are the things we always talked about as kids, to play in the NBA. When we talk, I tell them hopefully one day I'll meet them there."

McIntyre has watched a player "rebrand" himself in a season on the sidelines, from shooter to point guard.

"His past experiences fuels him," McIntyre said. "He stuck with it. A lot of kids could have quit. His potential is endless."