Jeronne Maymon and Ron “Tank” Johnson go way back.

The two have played summer basketball against each other since sixth grade. But they were never teammates until now.
Maymon, from Madison Memorial, and Johnson, from Oshkosh North, are a formidable duo for the Division 1 North team Saturday in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game at the University of Wisconsin Field House.

“If we get a chance to play together, we’re pretty good (in the) post,” Johnson said at practice earlier this week. “I think we’d be pretty hard to stop, both of us in the game at the same time.”

The 6-foot-7 Maymon is the two-time Associated Press Player of the Year, the reigning Mr. Basketball in the state. He is about to embark on his college career at Marquette, where he begins summer classes June 29.

Johnson, 6-5 and 285 pounds, is headed to Olney Central Junior College in Illinois. He plans to spend two years there, then hopes to play his final two years at UW-Green Bay.

“He was always a big dude,” Maymon said of his past battles with Johnson. “He used to push me around sometimes. Now, it’s just over and done with.”

Maymon used to play with the Madison Spartans over the summer, while Johnson came up with the Fox Valley Skillz.
“We used to beat up on his team all the time,” Maymon said.

Johnson estimated the two faced off three or four times a summer. As a result, Johnson had a good vantage point to watch Maymon develop into the all-around player he is today.

“He’s a big man, but he can also dribble,” Johnson said. “He’s pretty fluent when he dribbles. He can take it to the hole. I like that about him.”

In turn, Maymon measured parts of his own game — especially the physical aspects — in those matchups against Johnson.

“Back then, he could move me with ease,” Maymon said. “I was quicker than him. I wouldn’t stand by him, so he had to come guard me. I was moving around so much, he would be tired, so they had to get him out of the game. He was real strong.”

Maymon currently weighs 240 pounds, although he admittedly has not done as much in the weight room as he will in college. Still, he has gotten much stronger.

“He still can’t move me like he should be able to move me,” Maymon said.

Those light-hearted jabs are an indication of how much fun Maymon is having this week. The North team spent three days practicing in Stevens Point, bonding over pizza, movies and video games.

A relaxed Maymon pointed out teammate Jake Hottenstine of Bay Port at practice and said, “Jake is like the coolest one. He’s always laughing and giggling with me. We’re having a good time.”

“We’ve got some stories that happened up in Stevens Point, but we’re not going to go into all that,” Maymon added. “We don’t want the coaches getting mad.”

North coach Dan Fink, the former coach at Stevens Point, has been even more impressed with Maymon off the court than on it.

“You get a little older, you notice not so much, can he put the ball in the hole, but how does he interact with people?” Fink said. “I had a couple young guys that are going to be in the SPASH program next year, I had them come up and be around (practice).

“(Maymon) was always the first one to go over and introduce himself. Those type of things really show you what type of person and what type of teammate he’s going to be and the character he has.”

After attaining a 3.7 GPA for his senior year, Maymon is qualified to play as a true freshman and has a chance to earn significant minutes.

“That’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to go there, because there are open spots,” Maymon said. “I didn’t want to be playing behind no senior, or a junior that’s really good.

“I’m going in with the right mentality. I work hard in practice, I do my stuff off the court, the rest will take care of itself. I’ll be starting or playing a lot of minutes, whatever the case is. You always want to take advantage of a good opportunity. So, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

WBCA ALL-STAR GAMES

When, where: Saturday, boys at UW Field House, girls at Madison Area Technical College.

Boys: Division 1, 9 a.m.; Division 2, 10:45 a.m.; Division 3, 12:30 p.m.; Division 4, 2:15 p.m.

Girls: Division 2, 9 a.m.; Division 1, 10:45 a.m., Division 4, 12:30 p.m., Division 3, 2:15 p.m.