Maloney powers unselfish Mohawks

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Madison's Mark Maloney drives to the hoop during a Div. III district final game against Shroder Paideia Thursday, March 11, 2010 at the University of Dayton Arena.

Staff photo by Nick Graham Madison's Mark Maloney drives to the hoop during a Div. III district final game against Shroder Paideia Thursday, March 11, 2010 at the University of Dayton Arena.

District 15 D-III Player of the Year leads Madison against Cincinnati Taft on Wednesday night.

By John Bombatch, Staff Writer Updated 8:15 AM Tuesday, March 16, 2010

MADISON TWP. — To this day, Madison High School senior Mark Maloney isn’t sure what got him noticed at a Beavercreek youth basketball camp. But whatever it was, he’s been hooked on basketball ever since.

Maloney and the rest of the undefeated Mohawks (24-0) will face Taft (22-2) at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, in a Division III regional semifinal at Fairmont’s Trent Arena in Kettering.

“Football had always been my first love,” Maloney said. “But in eighth grade I participated in that camp and they named me player of the year. That really meant a lot to me.”

A military brat, Maloney was born in Boston and grew up traveling the world with his father, retired Air Force Tech Sgt. Maurice Maloney, and the rest of the family. The family moved to the Dayton area when Maloney was a third-grader. That’s where the family befriended current Mohawk and teammate Josh Foster’s family.

Maloney’s parents said he and Josh have been friends since third grade, but neither one remembers the other in their childhood. They first played basketball together four years ago.

“Mark is a great teammate. He really brings a lot of energy to the team,” Foster said. “He’s someone we all like to joke around with, but he’s a great athlete and he really helps us out on the court.

“Off the court we’re just as close.”

Maloney leads the Mohawks in scoring with a 15 points-per-game average. Madison coach Jeff Smith said Maloney is the complete package.

“He rebounds, he defends, he scores. He does a little bit of everything,” Smith said.

Maloney was named Division III Player of the Year by the District 15 Coaches Association and he’s been selected to play in the Ohio Basketball Coaches Association North-South All-Star Game on April 18 at Capital University.

Maloney said this year’s team has been successful because it is less selfish than in years past.

“I don’t try and score 30 points every day, I just play,” he said. “If I’m having a bad game, that means somebody else is going to have a good game.

“My sophomore year here, it seemed like everybody was doing their own thing. Then last season, we were 17-4. I think this year, we all realized that if we want to get our goal, we have to play unselfishly. And that means playing team ball. We really don’t care who is scoring the points. We just want to win.”