Jeronne Maymon: Man-Child

He's six feet, six inches tall, and weighs 250 pounds. A big young man, but not at all unusual for Division One college hoops. Today, Jeronne Maymon may get his official release from the athletic scholarship (an oxymoron if ever there were one) granted to him by Marquette University.

The freshman's dad tells a State Journal reporter things "ain't working out".
Maymon was a part - let me say that word again - part of the Madison Memorial High basketball team that ended its past two seasons in the state championship game. He was recruited by no less than five Division One schools, and chose Marquette.

Now, he's fired Marquette.

They didn't let him play the position he wanted to play, and they didn't give him enough playing time. His dad says Coach Buzz Williams didn't design their offense around his boy.

My, my - whatever happened to the old saying "there's no I in team"? I know. There's no I, but there is a "me".

Anyone who doesn't understand that Division One athletics is a cutthroat business that chews people up and spits them out can stop reading right now.
Marquette hoops coach Buzz Williams had precious little to say Monday when he told the media Maymon was quitting. But earlier in the season, he said of Maymon "He's got to work every possession. When he figures that out completely, he's going to be really, really good. He hasn't figured that out yet."

Jeronne went to see his alma mater host Verona Tuesday night, but wouldn't talk to reporters. Apparently his dad is doing all the talking now.

I have two words for young athletes who let family members do their talking (and negotiating) for them: Ron Dayne. At least the free-agent football player is picking up a few bucks doing ads for a local hot-tub dealer and hawking his book, "The Dayne Game".

I have an idea that it must be very hard for young athletes, who've been pampered and treated specially all their young lives, to realize that the world does not revolve around them. College freshmen, no matter how heavily recruited, do not set the agenda or determine the lineup or game plan for the team.

He who thinks he is indispensable often learns the hard way, he's not.

Old geezers like me are given to mouthing clichés that start with the phrase "the kids these days", followed by a rant about how much tougher life was when we were younger. One thing the kids these days seem to think is the most important thing is "respect". God forbid you should "disrespect" a young person.
Back in my day, respect was something you earned.

Apparently a lot of young people have confused "respect" with civility. Or maybe my idea of respect is vastly different from theirs, which to me seems synonymous with "admiration".

Good luck, Jeronne Maymon. Perhaps you and your dad can find a Division One team that admires you more than Marquette.

Anybody wonder if Vander Blue is re-thinking his commitment to Marquette?