Checking in with Jeronne Maymon
Written by: Todd Rosiak
The spotlight might have been on Michael Snaer at Saturday's open gym at the Al McGuire Center, but Jeronne Maymon, a member of MU's 2009-'10 recruiting class who has already committed, was also in attendance and making himself at home.
After squaring off against a number of his future teammates, the odds-on favorite to win Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball award heading into his senior season at Madison Memorial sat down and talked about his summer, his goals for the upcoming season, and his relationship with his future MU teammates.
Here's what Maymon had to say:
How have things been going over the summer and heading into the fall semester? They're going good. Did a lot of school stuff, had a couple tournaments, worked out. That's basically all I did.
Having hit the AAU circuit hard in the previous summers, was it an adjustment not playing as much this time around? No, it was actually nice to have some time to relax. It's not that I was tired of ball, it's just that all the traveling and everything was kind of getting on my nerves. So it was good to take a break.
What exactly did you do in summer school? I only took two classes. Went in there, knocked it out -- an A and a B. So I did good.
So you feel like you're on track academically? Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to...school's actually fun this year.
Have your academics become a motivation for you? Because without doing well, you'll be making it harder on yourself to qualify academically next year at MU. Oh yeah, definitely. Right now I'm on track, I'm eligible. I just want keep it that way for this school year, make sure I pass all my classes and everything like that so I'll be good.
What are your goals, basketball-wise, this year? Main goal is to get everybody on the same page and win state. That's all I'm thinking about.
Individually, are you shooting to become Madison Memorial's next Mr. Basketball? I want to take every award possible -- Gatorade, player of the year, all that and then some. I'm going to pass Wesley (Matthews) in scoring and Keaton (Nankivil) in rebounding. I'm just trying to take it all this year. Hopefully everything will work out.
So how much talking goes on between you and Wesley when you're able to make it down here? A lot. He still thinks he can get me because he's stronger. But I don't think he can hold me, though. (laughs)
Just watching you interact with the guys currently on the team, it seems like you already feel at home here and have a good relationship with your future teammates. Is that accurate? Yeah, because they're real easy to get along with. That's why I interact with them so much, and laugh and joke about certain things -- because everybody's so warm and friendly.
Do you get down here pretty regularly? I've been down here a couple times to play open gym, I lifted with them a couple times. The workouts are crazy. I did a couple drills. It's nice, though, trying to get used to working out constantly.
You hopped off a plane in NYC a few weekends ago and put up 45 points, 28 rebounds and 14 assists in two games in the IS-8 Tournament against some pretty good competition. How would you say your game has been coming along as a whole? I need to work on everything, basically. You can always continue to increase any level of your game that's already good -- just get it down so you can, like, do it in your sleep. Probably what I need to work on most is probably my outside shot and my court vision. I'm a good passer and all that, but just reading the defense a certain way. There's certain ways to react in certain situations. What I'm most hyped with is probably my free throws. I don't miss too many free throws.
Playing against college juniors and seniors, and players the caliber of a Jerel McNeal, must give you a good sense of where you stand as a player, no? It tests a lot of stuff. My toughness. A lot of these guys are quick and they're strong and smart. They probably know more about the game because they've seen it in a college light. It just gives me an insight of what I'm going to be in for when I get up here.
Having played against guys like that, do you feel like you're on a whole different level when you begin playing against high-schoolers again? It definitely comes easier. Everybody thinks, like, I think I'm too good when I play high-school ball because sometimes I don't sweat and I'm scoring a lot and getting all types of stats, and it doesn't look like I'm trying. They think I'm stuck up or something because I never look like I'm trying. But it's just easy. It comes easy.
Are you planning on coming back down as much as you can once the season starts? Oh yeah, I'm going to get down here as much as Hennssy (Auriental, Maymon's AAU coach/mentor) takes me back and forth. I'm going to try to come down and support them a lot. I want them to go far, especially since they're getting to the NCAA tournament, and do some damage.
Have you been keeping in contact with any of the other members of your recruiting class? Yeah. I talk to Junior Cadougan, Dwight Buycks. I text Dwight all the time.
You're pretty familiar with Junior, having played with him earlier this summer at a camp. Can you give a scouting report on him, as someone who's played with him? He's tough. He's got one crossover that he gets everybody with every time. He's got a nice little pull-up. He's quick for his size. The first time I saw him I'm like, 'He might be kind of slow.' But he gets on that court, he's fast. He's real fast.
Will you be at 'Marquette Madness'? Yeah, I'm going to come down. I came last year. It's fun, watching them go out there and go against each other.
I'm assuming it's probably hard waiting until next year, when you can finally be a part of it. Yeah. I also love the uniforms. The uniforms are exclusive.
(http://blogs.jsonline.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=539769)
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/09/28/checking-in-with-jeronne-maymon.aspx
Uniforms are "exclusive" - love that line. Sounds like a great one-line to use with recruits!
Does announcing his commitment with MU allow him to workout with the players and lift with them? I'm just concerned about possible violations with interactions between Jeronne and staff/players - if there were any that are applicable.
Quote from: 77ncaachamps on September 28, 2008, 01:38:37 PM
Uniforms are "exclusive" - love that line. Sounds like a great one-line to use with recruits!
Does announcing his commitment with MU allow him to workout with the players and lift with them? I'm just concerned about possible violations with interactions between Jeronne and staff/players - if there were any that are applicable.
It looks like as long as Maymon is paying for his own trip to MU, and not interacting with coaches during a dead period, there is no limit on the number of unoffical visits he can take to MU.
http://www1.ncaa.org/eprise/main/Eligibility_Center/CBSA_Recruiting_Regulations.pdf