Tiki Mayben was supposed to be a household name at this point in his collegiate career.

But last Monday, Emmanuel ‘Tiki’ Mayben, formerly a nationally coveted Syracuse point guard recruit, gave an oral commitment to Kevin Broadus’ Binghamton Bearcats for the 2008-2009 basketball season. Should he suit up for the Bearcats, Mayben will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Mayben’s passage to Binghamton ‘ if it happens ‘ will be the culmination of a long, rocky journey that has been seemingly derailed at every twist and turn. Mayben’s story has become more legendary than his considerable talent. His is the story of mixed priorities, misunderstandings, missed opportunities and second chances ‘ and third, fourth and fifth chances.

Mayben, a native of Troy, N.Y., was ranked as the No. 1 player in the country after his high school freshman year by Hoopscoop, an online recruiting Web site. By the time he graduated from high school, Mayben, a four-star prospect, was ranked as the ninth best point guard and No. 57 player in his class.

As a hoops phenom, Mayben excelled on the basketball court and committed to the Syracuse Orange after only his freshman year of high school. But Mayben’s life off the court was another story. He regularly skipped classes and was expelled several times, according to a 2006 article in the Syracuse Daily Orange.

‘It was to the point where they’d let me back in school to play basketball, and then they’d kick me out (after the season),’ Mayben told umassathletics.com.

He was even kicked off his high school squad twice, but was let back each time. Yet, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim was still committed to his future point guard.

‘In his senior year I talked to his high school coach who was going to cut him from the team,’ Boeheim told the Daily Orange. ‘I told Tiki we would stay with him as long as he got his grades.’

Mayben did obtain a qualifying SAT score, but couldn’t raise his high school GPA high enough to qualify for his scholarship. The coaching staff at SU wanted Mayben to attend prep school to boost his grades. At their urging, Mayben, whose mother was sick at the time, tried attending Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts, but was unhappy and left after six days.

Left with few options, Mayben nearly enrolled at a local community college. But UMass head coach Travis Ford offered him another chance. Under NCAA regulation Proposition 48, Mayben would attend classes for a year without a scholarship and join the basketball team his second year if his grades held up.

Mayben’s future looked bright at the start of the 2006-2007 season: He was a student in good standing entering his first year of Division I basketball. Named to the preseason Atlantic 10 All-Rookie squad, Mayben started the first 12 games for the Minutemen. A pass-first point guard, he scored 12 points and 11 assists in his debut against Dartmouth. Despite shooting at a .367 clip, he led the A-10 in assists until late January.

But when the Minutemen’s returning point guard, Chris Lowe, returned from disciplinary suspensions midway through the season, Mayben saw his playing time dwindle. He finished his season averaging 2.9 points and 4.1 assists in just 17 minutes per game. Furthermore, Mayben wanted to be close to home to raise his newborn son. He left the team in the spring and returned home to play for Hudson Valley Community College this season.

‘It wasn’t the academics that caused him to leave UMass,’ said HVCC head coach Andre Cook. ‘He was doing fine. It wasn’t a great fit, having to battle against Chris Lowe for playing time.’

Mayben is currently preparing for his first season at HVCC. Mayben and Binghamton head coach Kevin Broadus have reached an agreement regarding his Division I future: if Mayben graduates from HVCC, he will have yet another chance at DI basketball.

‘He loved the [Binghamton] coaches. They cared about him not just as a basketball player, but also as a person,’ Cook said. ‘He needs to graduate. He knows that. They told him, ‘This is the GPA you have to get.’

Given his history, it seems questionable whether Mayben will capitalize on his talent and make it to Binghamton. But Cook believes Mayben has new motivation: his son.

‘He knows that he wants to make his son proud, so his son can say, ‘My dad graduated from Binghamton University’ one day,’ Cook said. ‘He’s very smart. He knows the situation.’

In a controversial 2006 article on umassathletics.com, Mayben was quoted as saying getting a degree is a second priority to making the NBA.

‘Emmanuel will tell you that that is taken out of context,’ Cook said. ‘The question they asked him was, ‘If you had a guaranteed multimillion dollar contract for the NBA, what would you do?’ They printed his answer out of context, and that quote was reprinted in newspapers all over, including his home paper. That doesn’t seem very fair.’

For an upstart basketball program like Binghamton, however, the risks may go beyond the classroom. Broadus will be installing a motion offense that requires discipline and statistical sacrifices.

‘If you are as good a passer as he is, you can play in the Princeton offense,’ Cook said. ‘He wants to give the ball up and get that assist.’

What does Mayben’s story add up to? That is a question for Binghamton fans to answer. It is also a question that Mayben can render moot. If he finally takes advantage of his talents and opportunities, Mayben will be one of the highest-rated recruits to ever play in the America East.

Binghamton hoops fans will get a chance to see Mayben in action on Dec. 15 when Broome Community College hosts Hudson Valley at 3 p.m.