The men’s basketball team recently began a new and hopeful season and anyone who has seen the team in action has likely seen two new freshmen that are difficult to overlook— Jan Maehlen and Hector Harold.
Relying primarily on upperclassmen this season the team believes their record will be better than last year. Spending part of the summer in Italy did a lot to improve team chemistry among the players and the two notable newcomers that are expected to have a positive impact on the season. Harold for one was rated No. 88 by ESPN’s recruiting site.
After finishing his high school career at Northfield Mount Hermon a prep school in Massachusetts Harold returned home to California for college. Originally from Pasadena and a lifetime Lakers fan Harold was eager to be back in Southern California
“I am glad to be back on the West Coast and close to home Harold said.
Not surprisingly, it was his family and a couple good friends that encouraged him to choose Pepperdine. Two of these friends are teammates Lorne Jackson and Keion Bell, both juniors.
I knew Keion and Lorne Jackson before I came to Pepperdine and I knew how much they loved the program here Harold said.
The 6-foot-7 forward has been waiting to play college basketball his entire life and was more excited than nervous for the season to begin. Growing up in the L.A. area, Harold is familiar with the West Coast Conference and it’s rivalries.
I’ve always known about the rivalries and I’m excited to play Gonzaga and LMU Harold said.
Harold likely had numerous options when deciding where to pursue his collegiate career. John Carroll, Harold’s high school coach, thinks Pepperdine is lucky to have him.
He is a warrior Carroll said. He plays hard every single game. Some guys rely on points scored but Hector isn’t like that. He just plays hard.”
Harold’s jersey was retired after he helped lead his high school team to the National Championship which Carroll believed was a testament to how much Hector brought to the court.
“He is a multi-positional guy and in the future will be a great recruiter for Pepperdine Carroll commented. He’s one of the best players we’ve ever had at NMH.”
Coach Tom Asbury and the team are equally excited to have him and they believe in his leadership on and off the court. Harold acknowledges that he has an incredible amount to learn in a new program but is eager to contribute.
He and his teammates have endured tough practices during the preseason but are confident in everything this year may hold.
“Practices have definitely brought more intensity but this is the year to do it teammate Josh Lowery said. The team looks to clinch some of the close games they lost last season and appears to be up to the task.
Hard-working and driven, Harold doesn’t stop with the 20 hours of weekly practice and workouts. He spends an additional 24 hours a week in the gym on his own time. In the little free time he does have, he enjoys playing video games and hanging out with UCLA’s basketball team. Interestingly, the two teams are good friends, and the bond amongst members of the Pepperdine team is apparent from the amount of time spent together. Fans hope this brotherhood will carry onto the court.
When you’re on the court with brother figures it makes the game that much more fun Harold said.
Despite his dedication, Harold admits to eating pizza for every meal of the day and never being serious about anything— except basketball, of course. With the dream of moving to France, for now Harold is happy to be living on the beach, playing for the Waves, and having a teammate and roommate like Jan Maehlen, the other newcomers to the men’s basketball squad.
The 7-foot freshman from Tucson, Ariz., has a bright future ahead of him, according to Coach Asbury. He sees the new elements that Maehlen brings to the team as an asset to the overall success of the team and the future of the program as well.
Maehlen, 300 pounds, lost 30 pounds since September, testifying to his work ethic that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his team or coaches.
If he continues to gain mobility like he has been he’s really going to be a force Coach Asbury said.
Born in Germany, Maehlen moved to Indiana for nine years and spent his last year of high school at Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson, Ariz.
Maehlen is fluent in three languages: German, English and Spanish. Known for his commitment to his academics, he knew Pepperdine would not only be a great place to play basketball, but a great place to go to school as well.
Showing the fatherly aspect of his coaching career, Asbury is excited for the program to provide stability for Maehlen who has spent a lot of time moving around.
He’s a great guy and he is really going to flourish here both in academics and in the program Asbury said.
Any conversation with his teammates demonstrates the respect and brotherly relationship they have with Maehlen. He enjoys going out with the team and when he can and loves to spend time with his family which includes his mom, dad and sister, who are big supporters in Maehlen’s life.
I’m extremely proud of Jan. He’s very motivated and is doing a great job with both basketball and school work said Hanna Maehlen, his sister. I’m very excited to see where his future takes him. He deserves everything positive coming his way.”
Former high school coach Brian Peabody told Pepperdinesports.com that “Maehlen is the kind of guy who will work hard to learn anything you teach him. He knew that Pepperdine would be a good place to grow as a player and as a student. His size doesn’t get in the way of his ability to learn to play better and as his coach put it ‘A lot of big men have trouble with that.'”
In preliminary scouting reports Maehlen was compared to big man John Bryant of Santa Clara University indicating his potential to become an intimidating and valuable asset to Pepperdine in the conference.