Marquette Recruiting Update: Maymon, Memorial Dominating

By Zach Smart

To paraphrase Quentin Tarantino in Reservoir Dogs, "This cat is like Charles Bronson in the Great Escape."

On the hardwood, that is.

Ever since Jeronne Maymon authored the book “March 2008 Timely Tear” also found under the title, “How To Sell Stock In Ten Games,” the kid from Madison, Wisconsin has etched a name for himself.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that high expectations for a highly-touted recruit have been quick to follow.

Maymon owned the stat sheet last March. The 6-foot-6 manchild averaged 30 points, 14.6 boards, 4.7 blocks, 3.7 steals and three dimes, helping steer Madison Memorial to their second consecutive state championship appearance.

These titanic numbers vaulted him into the top-percentile of Wisco's high school players. Maymon is currently ranked 58th amongst the nation's top players, according to Scout.com.

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A Marquette-commit, Maymon tells me the transition to Big East ball will be seamless for him. He’s the quiet confident type, where you really have to force the issue to get him to self-boast a little bit.

But when Maymon visited the Milwaukee campus in the fall, he was able to hold his own against guys like Dominic James (who he stayed with during his visit), hometown buddy Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Lazar Hayward, Dwight Burke, and the rest of the MU basketball click. He said his performance didn’t seize to surprise his future teammates, adding “they know how I get down.”

I first met Maymon this fall, as he was playing for the Unique All-Stars at the bandbox IS8 gym in Queens, N.Y.

Maymon had just helped his team gut-out a down-to-the-wire victory over Mount Vernon and Sherrod Wright, another hotly-pursued recruit who could be headed to the Big East.

Wright scored 24 points during the Knights’ 77-36 drubbing of Clarkstown South a few nights ago.

“He can shoot the ball like they were talking about,” said Maymon who scored 24 points to Wright’s 31 during an epic frontstage showdown between the two players at the aforementioned IS8 AAU game
“I didn’t even know anything about the kid until I got down here. But no question, he can shoot. There was one point where he was just letting that rock ride.”

Maymon and Madison Memorial, one of the top-ranked programs in the state, are rolling through the meat of their early-season slate with ease.

Maymon is leading the way for the alma mater of the aforementioned Matthews. He averaged 16.4 points through the first five games of the season, nearly all of them blowouts. Considering the way 5-0 Madison Memorial was clubbing the competition, Maymon’s stats don’t tell the story.

His minutes dipped as he was relegated to cheerleader role in games that were about as important as the old 3-on-2, 2-on-1 drill some old-school playground rat used to dominate in practice.

Against Madison LaFollette, Maymon hung 28 points.

The book on Maymon has many chapters to it. Trrimmed down from his once 240-pound frame, Maymon is a pretty accurate depiction of the real deal. Fresh off a junior year that saw him average 21 points and 11.7 boards, Maymon executes a tough arsenal of post moves and is physical around the basket who will make an immediate impact on Marquette's college basketball odds next season.

His toughness is supplemented by good life on his mid to long range jumper. He’s also an extremely versatile player, with the ability to sky for rebounds and create offense.

Don’t get it twisted, though. Ball handling, mano y mano moves, and taking players off the dribble is one of the weaker qualities of his game. The lack of a quick first step and his penchant for barreling to the bucket with his head down is what prevents him from emerging into a 30-point scorer in high school. It’s still early, so the sky is the limit for this young man.

As you all know, Tobias Harris, who Marquette is heavily pursuing, suffered a severe ankle injury.

The Long Island star is expected to miss around two months. Harris, who received an offer from USC and is on several Big East team’s radar, including UConn’s, suffered torn ligaments in his ankle.

-The action heats up for Marquette-signee Junior Cadougan, who will play in the prestigious Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout tournament on Friday and Saturday at the Al Mcguire Center.

Cadougan, a potent point guard, is a presence in the passing lanes and loves to attack the rim. He can knife through the teeth of the defense and finish on anyone. His outside shot is nothing to stamp home about, as he’s feast or famine from beyond the arc. Still, his ability to score is evident with pull up jumpers and barrels to the basket. If he pans out, J.C. will fill the void left by Dominic James.

JC and Christian Life Center Academy (Humble, Texas, right outside Houston), open up against Wauwatosa East, Friday at 8. Wauwatosa East is the defending WIAA Division-I champion. A rack of perpetual powers are to compete in the event.