Amya Zapien is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mesa High School for AZPreps365.com

 

At 17 years old, Jakyi “Kyi Kyi” Miles already has a basketball resume that most high school seniors could only dream of.

The Laveen, Arizona, native and Mesa High School standout is a five-star recruit in the class of 2028 and has earned 23 college offers, with his most recent one being from North Carolina State University, ranked among ESPN’s Top 25, and represented the USA at the national basketball camp, all before graduating high school. 

Behind the offers and headlines, Jakyi is still a teenager learning how to balance an emerging career with the simplicity of being a kid. 

Asked to describe himself off the court in three words, Jakyi said, “Genuine, humble and outgoing, a little bit.”

“I'm just never too big for who people claim I am,” he added. “I just try to stay in my little circle and remember who I am at all times.”

Jakyi's love for basketball began early. 

“I've always wanted to play basketball,” Jakyi said. “Just watching basketball, and just always wanting to be able to play, just made me fall in love with it.” 

By sixth grade, his eyes opened up when he realized that basketball is more than just a hobby and can actually become a business. 

“I just kept getting better and better at it,” Jakyi said. “Then I just kept going to my better places, and that's when I realized it's more like getting more serious.”

Jakyi’s father, Jarvis, remembers the early stages of Jakyi's basketball career, when he asked to be signed up after originally playing football.

“When I signed him up, I didn't know what to expect, because I'm thinking football is a sport from the first day,” Jarvis said. “He stepped on the court, and he had 30 points in his first game ever. So they had to move him from second grade to the fourth grade because it was too easy.” 

From that moment on, the work intensified for Jakyi as his daily routine starts early in the day at 5 in the morning to go to Mesa High School and work out during the school hours. 

“I have a workout after school, I have practice, and most of the time I get shots up right after practice,” Jakyi said. “That's just like a daily routine every day.”

The dedication seems to have paid off for Jakyi. In his first year of varsity, according to MaxPreps, he played 29 games, averaging about 19.9 points per game and also helped lead Mesa to the state championship, where they lost to Brophy College Preparatory. 

That moment, despite the result, is a moment that Mesa Head Coach Scott Stansberry said he will never forget. 

“Just getting to the state championship and just seeing him do that as a freshman was just something remarkable to watch,” Stansberry said. “He's just amazing in those things that he's able to do. Getting into the state championship in his first year was a lot of fun.”

Describing Jakyi off the court, Stansberry said the teenager doesn't get too high or too low. 

“He’s just kind of the same all the time,” Stansberry said. 

Stansberry described the first moment he saw Jakyi at an open gym and from that first look, he knew there was something different about him, and it was a blessing for Mesa. 

That “something different,” Stansberry said, has improved since his freshman year both physically and mentally. 

“The IQ of the game has grown for him, and hopefully I've taught him a lot, just as far as, like, scout reports, how to read defenses and where to pick his spots on offense,” Stansberry said. 

Physically, Stansberry said Jakyi grew taller, more athletic and more explosive, and that he is really looking forward to his sophomore year. 

The focus for Stansberry is not just about Jakyi’s development, but it is about how they are shaping him to continue to grow as a leader.

“We just talk about what he needs to do day in, winning that day with what he's doing on the court,” Stansberry said. “We just control what we can control, which is what we're doing in the gym and what he's doing in the classroom and what he's doing on campus.”

For Jakyi, his foundation is his family, and they keep him steady throughout everything. 

“They influenced a lot, just by the support system and just encouraging me to be better every day, be a better person off the court, and just motivated me to do good,” Jakyi said.

His father takes his role very seriously.

“It's mainly me and his mom just supporting him, just been really supportive of his dream and what he wants to do,” said Jarvis, who attends every training session, whether he is training his son himself or if his son is with a trainer, he is present.

When the attention builds up, Jarvis makes sure his son is staying under control and keeping everything in perspective. 

“I always tell them that pretty much the other job's not finished. He hasn't done anything yet. He's just scratching the surface,” Jarvis said. “Just stay grounded. Just head down, keep working one day at a time. And it's a saying, I like to say, you get one % better every day.”

Despite all the offers and growing national attention, Jakyi says he is the same person he has always been before and after the attention. 

“I just feel like really blessed, but I just never like to let it dictate who I am,” Jakyi said. “I just continue to say who I've always been, from what I didn't have offered until now. And I think that's what really helps me.” 

Stansberry said that he is appreciative, hardworking and humble. 

“He's appreciative of everything. He's God-given, and he's humble and then he's hardworking and has earned everything,” Stansberry said. “I can't see all that without giving a shoutout to his parents. I see the greatest parents. They push him, but yet he has a great family support.” 

Jarvis agreed, saying that Jakyi just loves the games and basketball is what motivates him because he is doing what he loves. 

Although playing in the NBA is the long-term goal, Jakyi is continuing to focus on his growth and leaving his mark at Mesa. 

“I want to be the best one to ever come out of Mesa, for sure,” Jakyi said.

Stansberry knows that the legacy is already taking shape for Jakyi. 

“Not only like to be the best that comes out of here, but I know that he wants to be the best to come out of here, but also like with multiple championships,” Stansberry said. “He wants to make sure the community's proud of like what he did in the four years that he's going to be here.”

For Jarvis, he wants the measure of success to go beyond basketball. 

“Most importantly, I want his legacy to be left more so off the court, the type of human being that he is. And just inspiring somebody,” Jarvis said. “Whether it's one person or millions of people, I just want him to be able to inspire somebody outside of the court.”

As everything continues to unfold for Jakyi “Kyi Kyi” Miles, those who know him believe that this is only the beginning for him. 

“Everything with basketball and Kyi coming together and Mesa and everything he's done coming up is just, you know, it's just like, it was written this way,” Stansberry said. “It just seems like it's how it's supposed to be written. And we'll see what else gets written after this.”