TCT All-Area boys basketball: Memorial's Maymon named Player of the Year

Dennis Semrau  —  3/25/2008 6:47 am

From the first day that Jeronne Maymon arrived at Madison Memorial High School, he expected to start for the Spartans varsity basketball team as a freshman.

He did.

However, his expectations weren't nearly as high when it came to getting his work done in the classroom.

That proved to be a big mistake.

While Maymon has acknowledged the errors he made academically, he prepares to enter his senior year geared up to prove the naysayers wrong.

"My freshman year I was there for the wrong reasons, for the girls, for other things. I wasn't focused on what I was supposed to do," he said regretfully.

But Maymon, who has been named The Capital Times 2008 Boys Basketball Player of the Year, is focused to hit the books as hard as he hits the boards. Not only does he realize that he has to have his game in order on the court to attract college recruiters, but his responsibilities in the classroom have to be met, too.

"My dad and other people telling me that I wouldn't get where I wanted to go if I didn't work harder in school finally got through to me," Maymon said. "I have to improve my grades in my core classes, which I'm trying to do."

Maymon said he has all the support he needs from his high school coaches, his father, teachers, academic advisors and his mentor and personal trainer, Hennssy Auriantal.

"I've had plenty of role models who wanted to show me the right things to do," he said. "I'm doing better but I still have some catching up to do."

If Maymon can attack the books the way he did opponents at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament this year, he will have plenty of options to play college basketball.

"Maymon, he's got my vote for Mr. Basketball, Player of the Year in the state. That's for sure," Oshkosh West coach Brad Clark said after the 6-foot-5 junior forward finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and five steals in 29 minutes in leading Memorial to a 61-58 victory over the Wildcats in the state semifinals. "He's a beast, unbelievable. He's so physically strong and smooth and good with the basketball."

Memorial coach Steve Collins said Maymon has barely scratched the surface of his potential.

"Jeronne could score 30, 40 points in a game if we just gave him the ball and let him go," Collins said. "But he knew that for us to get into the state championship game, that wasn't going to be the case. He is a leader. He's knows for us to be successful, all the pieces need to be working together."

Maymon said despite how well he personally played during Memorial's three games at state -- averaging 30.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 4.7 blocks and 3.3 steals per game -- losing to Wauwatosa East 58-56 in overtime in the Division 1 title game was a painful blow.

"After the loss I had to get away for a couple of days. I turned off my phone for a little bit," Maymon admitted. "Everybody was calling me and telling me I did a good job but I didn't really want to hear it."

Collins chuckled when he said that the day after the title game loss, Maymon sent him a text message apologizing for letting his coach down.

That gets back to Maymon's fiercely competitive nature and was the primary factor that drove him to make a promise for next season.

"I did a lot of soul searching about what I could have done better to help the team," he said. "But it wasn't about me doing well. It was about the team winning. Next year we won't settle for anything other than a gold ball. That has to be our goal."

That struck a positive chord with teammate Tre Creamer.

"Most of us like to joke around but it's Jeronne who keeps us loose," Creamer said. "He's gotten mad at me plenty of times during a game. But it's because we're doing things wrong or not staying focused on the floor. He's always on us to do better."

Maymon said he is planning to take several summer school courses to help boost his overall GPA. But he has plenty of work to do on the court, too.

"I have to improve on my ball-handling, free throws, my 3-point shot, everything," he said. "You can't be satisfied. When you are satisfied, other people are working on their game and will leave you behind. I also need to get my GPA right and work hard in school. I can't let down all of those people who are supporting me."

Dennis Semrau  —  3/25/2008 6:47 am