American tactician James Maye Jr. had a great introduction to the local league as he led APR Basketball Club as it defended its title and earned a spot at the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Maye Jr. is an experienced coach who worked in the NBA G League as well as US colleges, in addition to handling clubs out of his native USA. Times Sport had an interview with him, where he shared about his coaching journey, the playoffs triumph and what he thinks about Rwandan basketball. Read the excerpts: Q: First, tell us a bit more about yourself. Where were you born and how was your childhood in regards to the game? A: I was born in New York and was introduced to the game by playing in driveways and in the park. I grew up watching the New York Knicks and loving the physicality and passion they put into the game. It carried into how I love the game and inspired me to keep going. That drive carried me into college and then 14 years professionally. I got a chance to play on 6 continents, and win 8 championships along the way. I have dual-citizenship American-Dominican. So, I also was fortunate to represent a whole country while playing for the Dominican Republic National team and won a medal. Q: Let’s talk about your coaching journey. We understand you coached in Europe and the NBA G League. Tell us more. A: As a player, I was fortunate to have success under some really good, high-level coaches. I learned different styles of play, and a bunch of different ways of doing things. In one of my last years playing in Puerto Rico, when we ran out of transactions and needed a big man for the playoffs. I was the only transaction left and as team captain, coach asked me to join the coaching staff for the playoffs. Getting that experience early, a long experience working with high-level NBA and international players, and a traveled past helped create a level of trust and belief in my abilities from others, assisting me to break into the NBA circle. From there, I was fortunate to gain opportunities to travel more, to be a part of different teams in different cultures, and face different challenges under different pressures. All of that has helped me become more flexible, open to new ideas and learn different perspectives. I think my ability to connect with and grow with the people around me have been greatly influenced by the successful organizations I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of as a player and a coach. Q: Your most recent coaching role was in South America before you joined APR. Was it easy for you to decide to take the move to come to Africa? A: The decision to coach in Africa wasn’t easy from a family standpoint... being far away from my wife and children for a period of time. They are my primary support system and play a primary role in what I do. The good thing is that it wasn’t for that long. From a basketball standpoint, it was very easy. Basketball in Africa is the fastest growing market in the world and in Rwanda, there is an obvious desire to grow. As a coach and a person, I strive off the passion to develop and improve. I played in Africa before, so I was familiar with the style of play and the communication. I just had to catch up on other cultural things I felt would be important to our success. I was very excited and grateful for the opportunity APR gave me. Q: Let’s now talk about APR. You joined at a tough time when the team was heading for the playoffs. What were some your priority areas? A: Instilling a new culture was the priority on day one... teaching everyone how I wanted us to work, what it should look like, and the level of commitment, collaboration and accountability it was going to take. That is a process that was not quick and easy, it never ended for us throughout the playoffs, and will continue into the future. Once that foundation was established early on, changing our systems and style of play became feasible due to the buy-in and the contagious, positive energy it created throughout the organization. Q: Did you face any challenges? A: Of course. Letting go of old habits and ways of thinking, on and off the court, is always going to be a challenge for change anywhere. We just had to remain diligent and consistent in our messaging and what we were doing on a daily basis. Even when it wasn’t perfect, our guys had the desire to improve. Q: How do you rate the opposition you faced, especially in the finals against the Patriots? The players and teams were very competitive. I thought the coaches did a great job of pushing their guys every minute of play and the players left everything on the court every night. It is clear that there is a lot of talent in the country. It just has to continue being cultivated and it’s obvious that the country has the desire to do it. It’ll be very interesting to see where the level of basketball is a few years from now. Q: When you lost the first game of the finals, what did you tell the players? How was the camp at that time? A: Of course it was uncomfortable, but we just told them the truth. I didn’t think of it as a bounce back... but more of a bounce forward. We had never been in a finals game together so it wasn’t failure for us. It was just a learning experience, a chance to evaluate some things and make a choice on how we wanted to respond. We identified some things, attacked them with a high-level of focus and executed them in the next game without worrying about the outcome. We’re just happy that it played out in our favour. Q: Now that you have won the league, what next? How long is your contract with APR? A: I am not at liberty to discuss this but I can say that the future of the program is a priority for APR. Q: If you are with APR for the BAL, what is your plan in terms of getting the team ready? A: This will be an ongoing conversation as it gets deeper into this offseason. There are a lot of factors as you never know how things may change. At the moment, it’s good to give it space and come back later with a fresh perspective.
