Ram in Action: Jailyn Maddox

In her first year as a Ram, sophomore shooting guard Jailyn Maddox made a name for herself. Last year in her freshman campaign, Maddox scored a career-high 15 points against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutewomen in January, earning herself Virginia Lottery Student Athlete of the Week and A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.

Although a concussion interrupted her time on the court, Maddox looks at her 2016 season as a success. With training officially underway for the 2017 season, Maddox is ready to get back on the court.

How was last season for you?

Last season was a bit up and down. At the beginning I didn’t see the court that much but I definitely learned a lot from our seniors in practice. After I came back from my concussion is when I started to find minutes and it went basically up hill from there.

How would you describe the transition from playing basketball in high school to playing in college?

In college people are definitely a lot faster and a lot stronger so that was one of my goals of this off season, to get a little bit stronger and get a little bit faster and be more efficient with my movements.

Were there things that you noticed last season that you wanted to work on?

I wanted to be more efficient in driving, finishing around the basket and then three point percentage. I wanted to make sure that went up a little bit.

Last season, you received recognition for your performance in a game against UMass in January where you had a career high 15 points. How did it feel in that moment to become athlete of the week and rookie of the week?

I liked it a lot. I was a bit shocked by it. My teammates texted me in the group message and then there was a picture of me and I was like ‘Oh shoot that’s me.’ But yeah, I was a bit surprised by it but it felt really good.

Did you train during the summer?

Yes, of course. I trained with the team and trained with my buddy to get stronger. I also went to South Africa.

What are your personal goals for this season?

Personally, I want to be one of the top offensive rebounding guards in the conference. I want to be a leader for the team this year.

What are your goals for the team?

I know we want to improve our chemistry and we want to be able to talk more with each other and win the A-10 championship.

What does the team look like with the new 2017 class coming in?

We are definitely a lot more competitive this year. We are definitely young, but even when we might not know what we are doing, we are still going hard at it. I think that really fun about it. When we get into competition drills, you can see the competitiveness come out of everyone.

What type of role do you see yourself playing this season?

I think I am definitely going to have to step up in a leadership role, more of a scoring role and improve on my defense this year.

What do you consider to be your biggest strength on the court?

Offense and rebounding.

What would you consider to be your weakest?

Probably defense.

What made you want to play basketball?

I don’t know, I just kinda saw people playing it. My dad used to take me to all the Hoover games which is my high school and I just liked the atmosphere and I liked the game and I just kinda fell in love with it.

Are there any professional players that inspire you?

Not so much inspire, but I feel like I can compare my game a lot to Seimone Augustus.

Why did you decide to come and play basketball for VCU?

When I came on my official [visit] I really liked the team that was here. They were really welcoming and I like the diversity and the city and campus.

What are your predictions for this season?

A-10 championships. That’s what I am hoping for.

Are you hoping for a certain record like wins over losses?

Not really, I mean I want to have a winning season but right now I just want us to be able to be comfortable playing with each other and then go from there.

If there was anything you could tell your freshman self, what would it be?

Just got into games with more confidence. You have the skill, just be more confident in yourself.

Jessica Wetzler

Contributing Writer