Maymon buckles down in classroom and now is qualified to play as freshman at Marquette
posted by Mark Miller at 6/18/2009
By Mark Miller Wishoops.net Editor On the basketball court, there never really was any doubting the immense abilities of Madison Memorial’s Jeronne Maymon.
As a physically mature 6-foot-5 freshman, Maymon averaged 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting for a Memorial squad that went 24-2 and lost to Oshkosh West in the WIAA Division 1 championship game.
The numbers were even more impressive a year later as Maymon averaged 16.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg as the Spartans went 21-3 and lost to Milwaukee Vincent in the quarterfinal round of the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament.
Maymon took his game to an even higher level as a junior, earning the Associated Press Player of the Year award after averaging 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for a Memorial team that went 23-3 and lost in overtime to Wauwatosa East in the Division 1 title game. Maymon’s showing in the WIAA State Tournament was simply outstanding as he averaged 30 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.7 blocked shots and 3.7 steals in three state-tournament games.
As a senior, Maymon became the emotional leader for a Memorial team that took the final step and blew past Racine Horlick to win the Division 1 championship. For his efforts, Maymon repeated as the AP Player of the Year and also took home the coveted Mr. Basketball award.
Off the court, was a bit of a different story for Maymon.
Through his first three years of high school, Maymon readily admits he did not take school seriously and his grades suffered as a result.
Realizing he needed to buckle down in the classroom in order to be eligible at the next level, Maymon took steps to remedy his poor academic standing shortly after giving new Marquette University coach Buzz Williams a verbal commitment to play in the Big East Conference for the Golden Eagles in May of 2008.
Instead of going out and playing on the AAU/grassroots scene last June and July, Maymon instead enrolled in summer school. He worked hard on the books and earned an A in each of the two classes he took.
“It was a good idea for me to stay in and take the summer school classes,” Maymon said Thursday while preparing to play in Saturday’s Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game at the University of Wisconsin Fieldhouse. “It put me in the position I’m in today in terms of being fully qualified by the NCAA.
“As far as sitting in the classroom and my house while my teammates were playing in big AAU tournaments, it was tough at times. But I saw the big picture. It was better to sit in the classroom and in my house last summer so I could play ball as a freshman at Marquette. The people who helped set up my classes last summer did an awesome job and helped to get me where I am right now.”
Where he is right now is fully qualified to play as a true freshman at Marquette. Many doubted whether Maymon would be disciplined enough to stick with it in the classroom. But after attaining a 3.7 grade-point average as a senior, he has proved the naysayers wrong.
“I told him a couple of days ago how proud I was of his grades,” Memorial coach Steve Collins said. “You couldn’t ask for better grades. He’s grown up to be a great young man. I’m very proud of him.
“I think it was just a maturity thing. I think he realized how important school was. People forget we are dealing with kids and the light bulb goes on at different stages for different kids. It went on last summer when he wasn’t able to go out on the circuit.”
Maymon said he was able to carry over the success he attained in the classroom last summer to the fall and spring semesters because of a proper mindset.
“I came in with the right mindset,” he said. “The first semester I ended up with a 3.8 grade point average. I finished off the school year with the same standards I used during the first semester. My overall GPA for my senior was a 3.7.
“It was a maturity thing. You have to be mature about what you want to do with your life. People were fighting for me to do well and to do my homework, but there came a time where I just decided to push myself to get all the work done.”
Maymon said he spent a good deal of time meeting with his teachers after school. He also studied more, paid attention more in class and made it a point to sit in the front row for the majority of classes.
Indeed, he made it known getting good grades and developing a positive relationship with his teachers was now a priority.
“The coaches from Marquette told me to ask my teachers what I needed to do to get an A in a class,” Maymon said. “I had them write it down and I kept reviewing it and made sure I was doing those things. It worked out.
“I am way more prepared right now than I was a year ago. A year ago, I wouldn’t have made it. I’d probably being playing junior college ball somewhere. Now, I have my head on straight. I know I have to do the academic work. I know I have to put in a lot of time studying. It’s a different mindset that I have now. I feel more comfortable now than a year ago.”
Maymon said he is thankful to the teachers and counselors who helped him attain his academic success. He is especially thankful for the assistance of Mary Flynn, a Memorial teacher who took a keen interest in Maymon’s academic progress throughout his high school years.
“The person who really pushed me through and got my head right was Mrs. Flynn,” Maymon said. “She took me under her wing. My freshman through junior years, I was kind of on the shady side. I wasn’t paying much attention to what she was saying. But when I got my head right, I started listening to her and she continued to motivate me. She was there no matter what happened.”
Collins believes Maymon has shown maturity on the court since his freshman year. Watching Maymon’s off-the-court maturity level increase steadily throughout his senior year was a rewarding experience for the highly successful coach.
“He has always been very mature on the court,” Collins said. “You could see that as a freshman at the state tournament. I think his off-the-court stuff has now caught up with basketball. I think he is prepared to do well at Marquette.”
After taking part in the WBCA All-Star game on Saturday, Maymon will have a few days at home before traveling to Milwaukee and beginning his collegiate career at Marquette. He is one of seven newcomers in the Golden Eagles’ program, and he is expected to play a major role on the team right off the bat as a rugged and sklilled 6-7 combination forward.
“I’m very excited, but at the same time, I’m kind of nervous,” Maymon said of beginning his collegiate experience. “It will be interesting to see how I react to the weight lifting and the heavy running. I’m not worried about the basketball part, but rather the conditioning part and whether I’ll be able to keep up with the returning guys. But overall, I think I’m going to go there and do very well.”
Thanks to his new mindset toward academics, it appears Maymon is indeed on the right path toward achieving success at Marquette ... both on and off the court.
Comments 1
On
6/18/2009 6:03:11 PM
gotnogame wrote:
Great article Mark and a huge congratulations to Jeronne for his maturity both on and off the court. Nice to see a success story both on the court and in the classrrom. Marquette appears to have gotten a great addition.
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