TUCSON, Arizona — "Basketball, growing up, was always part of my life," said Max Majerle, before a recent game.
Max Majerle grew up playing baseball and basketball, as his father is legendary Phoenix Suns player Dan Majerle.
"He never pushed me to choose one," said Max. "At the end of the day, I chose basketball."
Initially recruited by Brian Peabody for the Pima Aztecs, Max chose to attend four-year college at Central Michigan University, where his father once played. Max suited up in thirty games as a freshman two seasons ago.
"It was a really cool opportunity to go and see everything my Dad did there and see all his accolades and statistics."
Max red-shirted last year for medical reasons, and was looking for someplace where he could start.
"That was the big things for me," said Max. "To go somewhere where I could play a lot and show my skill and my type of basketball."
The Majerles had also been familiar with Pima from when Dan recruited when he was head coach at Grand Canyon University.
"I said if you wanted to go to junior college, Pima would probably be the best spot as Coach Peabody does a great job of letting you play and his offense is great," said Dan Majerle.
"He's really good," said Brian Peabody of Max Majerle. "I like coaching older guys. He's got a couple of years under his belt. I think it's a good fit for everybody."
With his father attending many of his games, Max is averaging 16.9 points and 4.1 assists per game for Pima, helping to lead the Aztecs to a 15-0 record.
"It's actually even better than I thought," said Max. Everyone here is great. The coaching staff, the team, everyone pushes each other.
Max recently hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a win over Dawson College. He plans to use his success at Pima to transfer to another four-year college, as he carves his own path.
"I just tried to do whatever I could to help him, teach him, show him things," said Dan Majerle. But, he's been kind of on his own. I've been really proud of him."
