Rayson, Meyer change numbers to honor family members
Junior Braylon Rayson dribbles the ball during the game against Ohio on Jan. 23, 2016 in McGuirk Arena.
The starting five is the same this season as it was in 2014-2015 for the men’s basketball team. The only change is the numbers on their jerseys.
Sophomore forward Luke Meyer switched from No. 2 to No. 24, leaving the No. 2 for junior guard Braylon Rayson in place of his No. 5.
Meyer wore No. 2 throughout his high school playing days at Addison, but only because the school had just one set of uniforms.
“I was like, ‘Shoot, that number means nothing to me,’” Meyer said. “I’d rather have 24 anyway. So we just kind of made the decision to change it.”
Many of Meyer’s family members — including his mother, grandpa and uncle — wore 24.“In high school, they played in a town called Dundee,” Meyer said. “My grandpa held the record there for scoring and my mom broke it. My mom played at the University of Toledo. They’ve always worn number 24, so I’m trying to carry it along.”
While there are stories of NFL players paying tens of thousands of dollars in exchange for a number, there was no payment between Meyer and Rayson for what Meyer called an “easy trade.”
“I haven’t seen any payment for numbers at the collegiate level,” said Head Coach Keno Davis. “I have seen players come to a program and have a certain attachment to a number and ask a player that’s already there if it’s possible to change numbers. Sometimes they give up their number and sometimes they don’t.”For Rayson, this is his third number in three years at CMU.
“Five, I wore for one of my childhood friends that had passed away in a car crash,” Rayson said. “He wore number five.”
While the No. 2 and No. 5 hold meaning for the Dallas native, Rayson’s No. 0 from his freshman season had less significance.
“Zero was just the only number that was really there,” Rayson said.
