Nick Mayo, a former Messalonskee High basketball standout, said Friday he’s accepted an invitation to play for the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League.

Mayo, a four-year standout at Eastern Kentucky University, wasn’t drafted Thursday but said the Heat quickly contacted him.

The NBA Summer League is comprised of mostly rookies, second-year players and G League players. It also gives undrafted free agents like Mayo a chance to impress NBA teams with the hope of landing a contract.

“They had the most interest in me after my workout with them that went really well,” Mayo said in a text message. “They called as soon as (the) draft ended about summer league.”

Heat officials declined to comment, saying Summer League rosters haven’t been finalized.

Mayo’s agent, Ben Pensack, said via text message that undrafted players don’t sign Summer League contracts, but the NBA team pays for expenses.

Mayo would play games in Sacramento and Las Vegas, Pensack said.

The California Classic in Sacramento, California, runs July 1-3; the Heat will play three games there – against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 1, the Sacramento Kings on July 2 and the Golden State Warriors on July 3.

The Sacramento games are a tuneup for the larger Las Vegas Summer League, which features all 30 NBA teams as well as the national teams from China and Croatia.

The Las Vegas league goes July 5-15. Each team will play four preliminary-round games before the top eight teams are seeded into a single-elimination tournament, with the championship game July 15.

Teams that fail to advance out of the preliminary round will play a consolation game, giving each player a minimum of five games to impress coaches and player development staff.

“(I’m) so happy and proud of Nick. His relentless approach to becoming the (best) basketball player he can possibly become is showing,” Eastern Kentucky Coach A.W. Hamilton said in a text message. “The Heat will find out even more how special Nick is when they coach him in game settings.”

Peter McLaughlin, Mayo’s coach at Messalonskee, watched the draft with Mayo and his family Thursday night.

“I was with (Mayo) until basically the draft got over. I was proud of him. He was a little disappointed he didn’t hear his name called, but he was ready to work hard and in really positive spirits when I left,” McLaughlin said. “When I left last night, he was like, ‘Coach, time to go to work.’”

A four-time Ohio Valley Conference first-team selection, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Mayo set Eastern Kentucky’s record for career points with 2,316.

Mayo completed last season ranked second in the league and 10th in the nation in scoring, averaging 23.7 points per game.

Mayo’s strong collegiate career earned him a spot at the Portsmouth Invitational, a showcase tournament in Portsmouth, Virginia, in April.

Scouts from all 30 NBA teams, as well as European clubs, were on hand as Mayo averaged 14.3 points in three games. He shot 53.6 percent from the floor, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

Mayo worked out for 10 teams, including Miami. Pensack said the feedback after workouts was teams liked his shooting ability and range, but wanted Mayo to improve his rebounding. Mayo averaged 8.7 rebounds last season, a college career high.

Thinking of the success Mayo had at Eastern Kentucky, McLaughlin was reminded of the young, constantly improving player Mayo was at Messalonskee.

“It’s been an incredible process. That summer going into his senior year (of high school), he blew the doors off,” McLaughlin said.

“The things he’s done, if he and I were talking when he was 14 or 15 and I said, ‘Nick, you’re going to accomplish these things,’ we’d have a nice giggle.”

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