The calls start at daybreak and don’t end until Dan Maehlman goes to bed. The Jonesboro High basketball coach is never too far from a phone call from someone asking about M.J. Walker, the Cardinals’ McDonald’s All-American guard.
Maehlman said he gets calls daily from coaches of the five schools that Walker has on his list — Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and UCLA.
“The infamous question is, ‘Hey, what’s going on down there in Jonesboro?’” Maehlman said. “And you know they’re not asking, ‘How’s school going?’ or all that stuff. They’re basically saying in a nice way, ‘What’s M.J. going to do?’”
Unfortunately for the coaches, as well as news media with similar calling habits, Maehlman doesn’t have much of an answer. Walker apparently is choosing from among the five schools, and the signing period ended last week, but Maehlman doesn’t know what Walker’s plans are, or when he plans to make his announcement.
“Hopefully, it’ll be this week,” Maehlman said.
To the best of his knowledge, Maehlman said the five schools are all still in contention for Walker, the athletic, soft-shooting guard rated the No. 25 senior nationally by ESPN.
“I’m guessing he’s struggling over the decision,” Maehlman said.
Asked if he had a hunch, Maehlman said that he didn’t see any cons with any of the five, except for geography with Ohio State and UCLA and weather with Ohio State. But that’s his own interpretation.
“And what’s nuts about it is, you would like to tell (the coaches) something, but you can’t because you don’t know anything,” he said. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m being a jerk because I can’t tell them what’s going on.”
The length of the decision-making process is unusual. The majority of prospects sign in the early signing period in November. Many of the rest are ready to sign when the spring signing period begins in mid-April. Of the ESPN’s top 100 high-school seniors, Walker is one of three who has yet to align with a school. He graduates from Jonesboro on Thursday.
Maehlman is understanding of the length of the process.
“When you have a big decision like that, with all the quality of schools you have to choose from, I don’t blame them for taking as much time as they need,” he said.
Maehlman is in touch with Walker and his family regularly, but said he doesn’t ask about the decision. He knows the family, in his words, is “being bombarded” with questions from friends and family. He’ll get into a conversation on the topic only if asked.
“I’m 100 percent sure they’re exhausted with the whole situation,” Maehlman said.
Maehlman, who is Jonesboro’s athletic director and also a PE teacher, sounded a bit weary, too. Maehlman said he gets five to six calls daily from coaches looking for an update.
“Some of them will call at the break of dawn,” he said. “They know my schedule — when I’m off at work, when I’m at lunch, when I get out of school. It’s a bunch.”
Tech coach Josh Pastner, Maehlman said, “will call a good bit.”
With the signing period over, Walker can’t sign a national letter of intent and enroll for the coming academic year. He can instead sign a grant-in-aid agreement, which is not binding on the athlete’s behalf.
Until then, coaches and fan bases will continue to wait, hoping that a guard with program-changing potential will grace them with his commitment.
“I think everybody will be not only excited, but everybody will be relieved when it’s all over,” Maehlman said. “It’s been a long process. You’ve got to do a lot of work to figure out which one’s best.”
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