Intro: Mayoum Mayoum (2020)
As a hyper athletic 6-foot-2 off guard, DME Academy sophomore Mayoum Mayoum has injected unbridled energy into the high school national team’s lineup.
Thriving in the transition game and knifing to the rim without a tinge of trepidation, Mayoum’s aggressive nature has offered immediate contributions to the SIAA program.
The Melbourne, Australia native scored 17 points, doled out four assists and had three steals in DME’s 55-53 conference victory over The Rock School on Tuesday night.
“I think his best asset is his motor, I mean he’s just non-stop,” explained DME head coach Dan Mondragon, who has helped catapult a core of unheralded prospects into the realm of national relevance.
“I mean he’s just a pitbull out there, defensively and offensively. He’s really just a freak athlete. There were times against The Rock where he would just barrell his way in there, he got to the rim at will.”
The energy Mayoum provides is infectious and he’s got a presence and above the rim game which his teammates appear to eat off of.
Mirroring DME’s success has been the emergence of Madiaw Niang.
A 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward and transfer via Miami Calusa Prep, Niang came in with a European guard’s skill set.
By making fitness a livelihood and packing on muscle to a once spindly frame, Niang has evolved into an interior banger.
He turned in a behemoth 35 point, 14 rebound performance during a win against SIAA foe Downey Christian earlier in the 2017-18 campaign.
The self-revelation Niang underwent in that memorable performance, when he played possessed throughout, has carried over into January.
Engaged through both halves of basketball, Niang pulled down 11 rebounds during the aforementioned The Rock win.
“He’s been really embracing the role as our leader,” said Mondragon of Niang, who spent time in the prestigious Canaries basketball youth leagues before acclimatizing to SIAA basketball.
Florida International, Stetson, Coastal Carolina, and a bevy of others have offered Niang.
UMass, Murray State, and Dayton are waiting in the wings after expressing interest this fall.
With the emergence of Mayoum, DME has another scoring threat whose style aligns with the program’s patented baseline to baseline attack.