BY GREG MENGELT
Greg.Mengelt@newsandtribune.com
JEFFERSONVILLE —
This season, as Evan Maschmeyer went, so went the Jeffersonville Red Devils.
With the junior guard out with an ankle injury, Jeffersonville started the season 5-2. With him struggling to find his confidence after returning from the injury, the Red Devils lost four of their first 12 games.
Since becoming the player that Jeff coach Tim LaGrange expected before the season, the Red Devils are unbeaten and are coming off wins over Class 4A No. 2 New Albany and No. 1 Bloomington South in back-to-back weeks.
“Without him at 100 percent, we weren’t the same team,” senior point guard Drake Coleman admitted.
“There were people in December asking what was wrong with Jeffersonville, because we had some high expectations,” LaGrange said. “Well, for one thing, Evan Maschmeyer wasn’t healthy.”
Maschmeyer is Jeff’s leading scorer during the playoff run, including a 20-point performance in which he hit his final six shots in Jeff’s 58-56 upset win over Bloomington South in last Saturday’s Seymour Regional final.
He’s done a lot of everything else, too.
“He can do everything,” Coleman said. “He can take it to the basket, score, pass, shoot. He can do it all. He’s one of our biggest threats.”
North Central coach Doug Mitchell said stopping Maschmeyer is his Panthers’ No. 1 concern in Saturday’s semistate.
“He’s a tough-nosed son of a gun,” Mitchell said. “He’s a real winner. He’s a very, very complete player. He shoots the 3 well, but he’s also not afraid to get his nose dirty. He’s a really nice player.”
Maschmeyer, who is being pursued by colleges like Cornell, Columbia, Ball State, Western Michigan and David Lipscomb, sat down with Evening News and Tribune reporter Greg Mengelt for a one-on-one interview.
QUESTION: At this point, you’re two wins away from a state championship. Have you started to dream about cutting down the nets at Conseco Fieldhouse?
MASCHMEYER: “Every now and then, I’ll think about it. It still seems a little unreal. Winning the regional still hasn’t sunk in yet. Whenever I do start dreaming about it, I think we still have to beat North Central and we still have to win another one. I just try not to think about it. People have already started to make such a big deal out of us winning regionals. If we were to win state, we’d be remembered forever. I think the community would be so happy. It’s something we could all share together.”
Q: Were there ever any doubts in your mind — when you had four losses earlier in the season — that these championships were possible?
MASCHMEYER: (Pause) “I’d say there were doubts that we wouldn’t reach our potential. I think we always thought that we could be really good. But obviously we weren’t playing like it. Then, we got some wins, but it wasn’t like we were playing well. We weren’t playing like we wanted to play. But from Day 1, we knew we were good. We knew that if we came together, we could make a run.”
Q: At what point did you start to feel like you were not just 100 percent healthy, but also in the flow and comfortable and really part of what was going on with this team?
MASCHMEYER: “I sprained (the ankle) really bad and it took awhile just to get used to it. I think I was probably 100 percent before I started playing like it. I think part of it was mental. I thought (it was still hurting) while it really wasn’t. When we took the trip to Evansville (Feb. 5-6), I started playing harder on defense, and I think that was what led to me scoring more on offense. Then, I stopped really worrying about it.”
Q: Very few people get the opportunity to do what you did in the sectional final, hitting the game-winning shot against a rival. Everybody who has ever picked up a basketball has dreamed about doing it. What was it like?
MASCHMEYER: “It was pretty amazing. I just wanted to make a play, whether it was scoring or making a pass. After the game, it felt good to know that we just beat New Albany. It was a dream-come-true kind of thing.”
Q: This weekend, you’re taking on one of the best point guards in the country in North Central’s Terone Johnson. How much of that defensive assignment will go to you, and are you looking forward to the opportunity?
MASCHMEYER: “I’ve watched him last year in the junior all-stars, and he was my favorite player. I thought, if there’s one guy I would like to play like, I would play like him. He just took over the game. It’s kind of neat to be able to play against him. We’ll see if I can stop him and see what we can do. Hopefully, he’ll have a great night because obviously he’s a great player. I see it as a great opportunity.”
Q: Are you starting to think about where you’re going to play in college?
MASCHMEYER: “I’ve heard from several colleges. I’ve made a couple of visits. I’m not really worried about it now. I figure once the spring and summer starts, I’ll look into that more.”
Q: Where have you visited?
MASCHMEYER: “Ball State, Wisconsin, Western Michigan and I’m going to visit Cornell soon.”
Q: Does that make this NCAA tournament a little more exciting knowing you it might be you out there in the future?
MASCHMEYER: “A little bit. It makes it cool, thinking about yourself in that situation. It would be awesome to play in the tournament. What it would be like to play in front of that many people in that kind of atmosphere. It’s a big dream of mine.”
