No question he's been asked to play more of a role than he's probably suited for. On an ideal team (which we do not have), he'd be a solid role player or sixth man off the bench. He's been expected to be a go-to option on offense, which he just isn't. With that said, he's still shooting 35% from three which certainly isn't terrible. Other than Battle, he's the only guy on the team that the defense needs to focus on on the perimeter, which is useful in spreading the floor and opening up options for others who need to drive into the defense (Armel, JNJ). So even if he's not getting many opportunities to shoot (like against Duquesne), he's still useful to have on the floor. I think this is why he seemingly just goes to the corner and waits on most possessions, which I think is by design from the coaching staff. Even though he didn't score on Saturday, I don't recall him making any bad mistakes, and he did have one play where he drove to the paint, found Amir open for three who made the extra pass to Battle to hit the three. I agree that on a better team, he wouldn't be getting so many minutes, but overall he's still a solid player on a team that doesn't have many options.

The funny thing is when I first saw his highlights from high school, I thought of Maceo as more of a slasher than a three point shooter. He is a true three level scorer offensively, but I'm a bit disappointed he hasn't had the opportunity to showcase that. Jamison and Maceo should be taking primarily taking threes, but there should be a handful of plays we run each game where they are cutting off the ball and getting to the basket. Both are 90+% free throw shooters and we are wasting that ability by not getting to the line. This play was one of the more explosive plays we've had all season:

https://twitter.com/GW_MBB/status/1198695146616868864

I'm glad Maceo is playing closer to 25 minutes in terms of keeping him fresh. Having more options next year offensively could change things, but I would just like to see him get more involved to up his confidence. I'm not sure he even took a single shot in the second half of Saturday's game after missing all three shots from deep in the first half. That's unacceptable - even if he's not on his game it just takes one shot to go in before he suddenly gets unconscious from there. 4 and 3 shot attempts the last two games isn't going to cut it. In any case I expect as Jamison gains more attention from the opposition things will open back up for Maceo to do his thing. JC has said Maceo can be a bit quiet when on the court and he is working to get him to play with more emotion.

The signature game for this 3 year GW starter.

One of the great, thrilling wins in recent GW history.

12-19 from the field, 7 3's made, incredible stuff.

Nice article.  Also nice to see Maceo receive some recognition, even if it takes a Buffalo newspaper to provide it.

Way to go Maceo!

It’s all in the school records book on the school’s website. 229 T. J. Thompson

His statistics are remarkably similar to last season despite averaging 7 more minutes of playing time per game this season as well as playing in an offense whose priority is freeing him up for more open three point shots.  Overall FG % is down slightly from 39.9% last year to 39.5% this year.  Three point shooting up a hair from 34.4% to 35.1%.  Scoring up marginally from 11.5 to 11.9.  Rebounding is down from 3.9 per game to 2.6.  He has 21 steals and 12 blocks this year having played 18 more minutes already than all of last year when he had 16 steals and 10 blocks.  His defense has looked better at times this year but IMO, it could only have gotten better.  Maceo's defense against the pick and roll still involves trying to get around the pick setter rather than deciding to go over or under the pick.  Trying to battle around the pick all but guarantees that the dribbler will have at least a step advantage.  I hope he will lean to either go under the pick against bad shooters or over against good ones.  

Could I see him on an All A10 team next season?  Not sure what his grades look like but the All A10 Academic team would be my best guess.

First, I understand it from all sides.  Maceo wanted a senior year where he could help lead the team.  Pretty hard to do that when your minutes are being reduced.  From the team's perspective, I think the additions of James and Matt ended up taking minutes away from Maceo (and Armel who of course is gone).  Maceo could have slid into the role of 6th man sharpshooter but the coaching staff appeared to have more faith in Sloan than Maceo to fill this role.  In my estimation, the coaches feel they have upgraded their talent enough to where Maceo became closer to a limited role player than a 30+ minute per game starter.

Second, it absolutely sucks from a personal perspective.  From all accounts, Maceo is a great person and a great teammate.  He bought in early on last year and JC often commented on Maceo's amazing spirit and work ethic.  Sons of coaches often turn out this way.

My sense is that JC is relieved on one hand and quite distraught on the other.

I wish Maceo great success.  He was an original MoJo recruit, he endured quite a bit during his time at GW, and all the while, he maintained a great attitude.  When his best friend Justin Mazzulla transferred to Vermont, it would have been easy for Maceo to feel abandoned and subsequently withdraw from the team.  Instead, he absolutely embraced playing for a new staff and made the most of the opportunity.

Very sad to see him transfer, even if it is more than understandable.  

Last edited by Gwmayhem (12/23/2020 3:46 pm)

Hope he finds what he wants...certainly understandable if he wants playing time to prepare for an overseas career.  Best of luck Maceo!