Princeton's 2013 recruiting has likely been complete for a while now, but somehow the news that guard Khyan Rayner ("Key-on Rain-er") was a part of the plan slipped under my radar until a tip from a reader last week.
The fact that Rayner's commitment to Princeton went unnoticed around these parts is no slight on his considerable ability. The high-scoring 5'10" guard from Portland, Oregon's Jesuit High School is a two time state champion and the Metro League's reigning Player of the Year.
Today I spoke with Jesuit coach Gene Potter about the sixth member of Mitch Henderson's 2013 class. Exclusive quotes and analysis plus links to player evaluations and videos of Rayner can all be found after the jump.
You can read complete profiles of all six future Tigers here.
Rayner relocated to Oregon from Rhode Island in 2010.
"When the family moved they looked at several of the private schools and we were the ones who honestly lucked out," recalled Potter. "He certainly wasn't on first vision somebody I was jumping up and down that walked through the doors but he's turned out to be an incredibly good player."
Averaging over 22 points per game for the Crusaders, the "sinewy strong" 5'10" guard who has scored over 400 points as a senior is expected to play the point at Princeton.
"[After two seasons at the point] we've had to play him mostly at the '2' just because of the type of team we have," Potter said. "He shoots it extremely well and from deep. He's really our number one and number two option this year and even with everyone focusing on him he's shooting 44% from outside the three point line and 51% overall. He's extremely good at putting the ball in the basket and outstanding off the dribble. He's a great passer and makes his teammates better. He's also a great on-the-ball defender. I think Princeton got a good one here."
Rayner is also an excellent free throw shooter, converting 88% of his attempts from the line.
"He's made some huge shots for us too," added Potter, who is in his 26th year at Jesuit and 21st season as the program's head coach. "Lots of big shots at the ends of games and the ends of quarters. The ball's not in his hands as much as it will be. His assist numbers aren't great but his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.8:1. It would be a lot different if he had better scoring options around him. It is really fun to watch him play."
Inner City Players in the Nike League is likely how Rayner was first seen by the Princeton staff. These experiences also allowed Rayner the chance to compete against a different class of foe.
"The fact that he's played so much ball during the summer against high level competition, it is incredible how he can finish inside against bigger guys," continued Potter. "Usually guys leaving the state of Oregon, playing against superior athletes is a real eye-opener for them, but Keyon has done enough of that."
Potter sees room for growth with Rayner, both vertically and to fill out his frame as he gets older. "He's spent a lot of time doing a lot of core work and the right kind of weightlifting for basketball," Potter said. "He has strong hands and strong forearms. He doesn't get knocked down. He's always on balance."
Perhaps most importantly, Potter envisions Rayner as the sort of player who will excel with stronger teammates surrounding him come college, which is similar to how I felt after seeing Spencer Weisz in person a few weeks ago.
"Those things point to what kind of leader he is and how he can help a team reach their potential," Potter stated. "It is not just like he's this great individual player - which he is - he's also the kind of player that helps his team."
"[Keyon's] game is going to continue to get better playing against better competition all the time in practice and in games."
Rayner dropped 30 points three days ago in Jesuit's 82-51 win at Sunset. He had 30 more against Southridge earlier in the year. The Crusaders are 16-2 on the season.
Last year Rayner scored 31 as Jesuit got past Century.
An ESPN piece from last March considers Rayner as a candidate for to represent Oregon as Gatorade State Boys Basketball Player of the Year. USA Today carries the same conversation forward to this season.
Like his future teammate Weisz, Rayner is an McDonald's All-American nominee.
In May 2012 Hoopville saw Rayner at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League's second session and wrote: "Steady point guard has a small body and needs to get stronger. While not a jet, he was able to penetrate some, and he had one nice scoring game with 17 points."
At the 2012 Les Schwab Invitational, Rayner had 32 (including 16-17 free throws) when Jesuit topped California stalwart Archbishop Mitty in overtime. Rayner's wearing #14 in white above.
Wrote Left Coast Recruiting after the prior Les Schwab Invitational game: "At 5'11", the Princeton commit looked good on the court. Rayner led the team with 26 points and was 9-13 from the field. Size wasn’t an issue for the young man."
In the same tournament's semifinals, Rayner scored 22 as Jesuit defeated D.C. power Gonzaga (a program that includes Ian Hummer among its alums).
This Facebook post says Rayner was admitted to Princeton back in mid-November of 2012. I asked Coach Potter if he had any insight on how this news could have escaped my eyes. Usually with players that commit to Princeton there's several degrees more fanfare. "I think it was just one of those little blurbs in the paper," Potter answered. "In The Oregonian there's a lot of Oregon and Oregon State stuff. Maybe the preps aren't covered quite as much possibly?"
There's a good AAU action shot of Rayner here.
Rayner speaks after scoring 19 in Jesuit's 6A state title game victory.
From June 2011: Rayner and Joe McFerrin are regular season rivals turned AAU teammates.
Recent Jesuit/North Salem highlights.
A sophomore year interview with Rayner.
