Whenever a player has to follow in the footsteps of very talented sibling, expectations tend to be very high. When said sibling is your high school’s all-time leading scorer and your dad is the coach, those expectations rise even higher. That was the case for former Rockville standout Lane Mahurin. His brother is RJ Mahurin, a former standout at Indiana State and his father is Davie Mahurin. Oh, and he has an older sister playing basketball at Oakland University. (Photo via IWUHoops.net)
Lane entered high school the year after his brother graduated. In RJ’s senior season the Rox finished with a 21-4 record and won back-to-back sectionals for the first time since the 1959, 1960 seasons (they also won in 1958). Rockville did not fare as well during Lane’s freshman season, finishing 10-12, but then surpassed his brother team success over the next three years. Rockville, led by Lane, won three consecutive sectionals, two regionals and advanced to the class 1A state championship game his junior year.
While Lane did have an offer to play at
Indiana State (provided he red-shirt as a freshman) the 62nd ranked player in the class of 2013, according to
Indiana Basketball Source, choose to play at perennial NAIA hoops power
Indiana Wesleyan. He joined a team that featured an All-American point guard and a veteran senior class looking to make a deep run in the NAIA national tournament. Then over the summer his older brother RJ decided to transfer from ISU and join Lane at
Indiana Wesleyan.
The brother combo started side by side during the 2013-14 season and helped lead IWU to their first basketball national championship. Lane started 24 of 37 games and finished third on the team in points and rebounds. He had a season high 17 points on three different occasions. He registered three double-doubles.
Now in his sophomore season, and his brother not around, Lane has taken on a much bigger role. On a balanced offensive team featuring six players averaging double figures, Lane ranks second at 13.6 ppg. He also ranks second on the team in rebounding and is in a tie for the lead in blocks. The 6-7 forward had a great past week, averaging 21.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg while connecting on 16-21 shooting from the field in a pair of wins.
Indiana Wesleyan is ranked #1 in the country and Lane is a big part of their success. The Wildcats have a very deep and talented backcourt and some solid depth up front which should allow Wesleyan to repeat as national champions. Back-to-back national titles to start your college career? Not a bad dream for a kid from a small high school, from a small town, playing for a small college. How’s that for exceeding high expectations?