“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is one of the oldest idioms in existence. Jonesboro head coach Dan Maehlman knows it is also one of the truest, after his team gutted out a 67-57 win over St. Pius in the second round of the Class AAAA state playoffs Saturday night.
Never one to hold his tongue or mince his words, Maehlman did not hold back his true feelings about the team that gave his ultra talented unit, the No. 1 seed from Region 4, ranked No. 1 in the AJC Top 10, fits until the bitter end.
“People think, oh it’s St. Pius, a team of slow white kids,” he said of a Lions team with a gaudy record of its own, 26-5, which was ranked No. 4 in AAAA. “Nothing could be further from the truth. They do everything fast. They’re constantly moving. They play tough, aggressive defense. They’re not some team playing a Princeton offense, trying to slow you down and looking for the backdoor cuts.
“They are one of the toughest teams I have ever seen,” Maehlman said. “They are well coached and they play hard on every possession. They play high school basketball like it is supposed to be played. My hat is off to them.”
Maehlman’s admiration for St. Pius was well earned. Even though Jonesboro (29-1), the defending state champions, have just one loss this season – to Montverde Academy of Flordia, the nation’s consensus No. 1 team – the Lions gave them everything they could handle from the opening tip.
Cardinal senior guard Deantre Mack opened the game with a deep three-pointer, but within seconds St. Pius guard Louie Aponte answered with a driving layup. The game would play out in a similar fashion for the rest of the night.
In fact, St. Pius led 16-15 after the first quarter and the contest was tied 25-25 at the half, as the Lions’ physical, gritty play kept Jonesboro out of sync. Exhibit A was the dismal performance for two-and-a-half quarters by Cardinal James Walker Jr., regarded by many as perhaps the nation’s top sophomore. The supremely talented 6-foot-5 wing player picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and didn’t score until he sank two free throws midway through the third quarter to break a 32-32 tie.
Before Jonesboro’s next offensive possession, Maehlman lit into Walker on the bench during a timeout. He responded by either scoring or assisting on nine of the Cardinals’ next 11 points. Walker’s breakaway dunk with just two minutes left in the period gave Jonesboro its largest lead of the night, 45-37.
“I tell him he has to stand out. People should be able to come to a game, watch him play and know that he is the No. 1 or No. 2 sophomore in the country,” Maehlman said. “But sometimes he’s just out there lollygagging around. We want him to be aggressive at all times, but he is humble as all get out. When he finally puts everything together, and he will, he’s so super talented that there will be no stopping him.”
Walker finished the game with 11 points, but his Division I caliber teammates picked him up. Mack, who has several Division I offers, led the way with 15 points while senior Austin Donaldson (committed to Chattanooga) added 14, and fellow senior Tracy Hector Jr. chipped in with 12.
But all of them were outdone by St. Pius’ 6-5 forward Kerney Lane, who led all scorers with 24 points which came on a variety of nifty moves in the lane, midrange jumpers and a handful of put backs. Derek Rufolo added 13 points, including three three-pointers, and Aponte scored 10 for the Lions.
Still, it wasn’t enough to keep the Cardinals out of the quarterfinals for the fifth time in the last eight seasons.
“I know sometimes I’m over there losing my mind, but these kids never get rattled,” Maehlman said of his team. “I have the most amazing kids. I love them. They make me look good.”
