By: David Kay
As if Marquette isn’t thin enough up-front, now freshman forward Jeronne Maymon has decided to quit the team, head coach Buzz Williams announced Monday evening.
Having covered Maymon for two years while he was in high school at Madison Memorial, I cannot say I am completely shocked by this news. I remember even making a comment when he originally committed to the Golden Eagles that he would not finish his career at Marquette. If only I had somehow actually placed a wager on that, I would be raking in the cash.
The 2009 Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin made some eye-raising comments when he initially declared his intentions to play at MU, implying that Buzz guaranteed he would see significant playing time and to possibly even start as a freshman. That was not the case as Maymon struggled adapting to the physicality of college basketball and often times looked a step behind where he was supposed to be on the court.
What was most likely the main reason Maymon left Marquette is because he was playing completely out of position. Due to the season-ending injury to center Chris Otule and slow learning curve for 7’2” freshman Youssoupha Mbao, Maymon was forced to spend the majority of his time on the floor playing down low and often times guarding the opposition’s biggest player. This was a major change for the 6’6” Maymon who handled the ball quite often in high school in almost a point forward type of role and was most effective when slashing to the basket.
In an interview with JS-Online back in May of 2008, Maymon’s dad Tim said, “(Williams) said Jeronne will play pretty much the two, three, four, and Jeronne loves the three… He’ll play some two and some four depending on the teams. We’re going to create a lot of matchups.” Clearly, Jeronne committed to Marquette with the intention of playing out on the perimeter instead of his current role as a post player.
Now there are two major concerns stemming from this announcement:
1-MU is down to nine healthy scholarship players and only have ten players currently on their entire roster. A lack of depth was already a major concern this season for Marquette and now freshmen Mbao or Erik Williams will have to step into a more prominent role. Neither is actually ready to be any sort of factor for Marquette this season but are now thrust into a necessity off the bench for Buzz.
2- How does this effect the recent signing of Maymon’s high school teammate Vander Blue? Blue has said several times he considers Maymon to be “a brother” and just told me Friday that he was anxious for the opportunity to one day play with Maymon at Marquette and admitted that Jeronne being at MU influenced his choosing the university. According to one report, Blue’s mother said that Maymon’s decision will not effect Vander’s commitment. Let’s hope that is accurate or Buzz Williams just lost one of the biggest recruits in the program’s history.
In the end, Maymon needed to do what was best for him and I completely understand his decision but am in no ways saddened by it… unless Blue does decide to leave in which case I will be a wreck. As for Marquette, the pessimism is back in full effect; be prepared for a loooooooooooooong, painful season.