The Youngtown State men's basketball program has signed Shemar Rathan-Mayes (Toronto, Ont.) and Alex Vargo (Wheeling, W.Va.) to National Letters of Intent, Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun announced.
"We are really excited to add Shemar and Alex to our program," Calhoun said. "Both are terrific young men and outstanding players and will make us a better basketball team."
Rathan-Mayes, a 5-11 point guard, averaged 14 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals per game as a senior. He helped Orangeville Prep to a pair of state championships and an overall high school record of 86-4. Rathan-Mayes was voted All-OSBA Second-Team and was also selected to participate in the BioSteel All-Canadian Game, which is the Canadian version of the McDonald's All-American game.
"We like to recruit players from winning programs and that is Shemar, he played for the best team in all of Canada," Calhoun said. "We feel that he can help us immediately from the guard position with his ability to make plays with the basketball and is a floor general."
Vargo, a 6-6 guard, scored 1,634 career points, which ranked second in school history. He earned West Virginia AAA First-Team All-State honors as a senior, averaged 27.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game and shot 42 percent from 3-point range, and was a 2020 McDonald's All-American nominee. He set Wheeling Park's school's single game scoring mark with 53 against Parkersburg South, January 20. Vargo was named first-team all-state as a junior and second-team all-state as a sophomore.
"A 'gym rat' is a word to describe Alex Vargo," Calhoun said. "It was very clear throughout the recruiting process that he loves basketball. Alex is a terrific 3-point shooter and natural scorer. He had a terrific career and played for a very good coach in high school at Wheeling Park."
Rathan-Mayes and Vargo join William Dunn, Myles Hunter and Cheick (pronounced SHAKE) Traore in this year's recruiting class. Dunn is a 6-8 forward from Quincy, Mich., Hunter is 6-5 guard from Charlotte, N.C., and Traore is a 6-8 forward from Concord, N.C.
