ORONO, Maine — Malachi Peay wasn’t sure where he was headed to college when he came to check out the University of Maine campus in July 2007, but he did when he left.
“It came down to three schools and it was getting late,” said Peay, now a sophomore forward-guard for the Black Bears. “I came to visit and made my choice here. I just felt real comfortable. I’m around a group of guys I like a lot and it turned out even better than I expected.”
Even an off-court incident involving a brush with the law early in his freshman season and injuries in each of his two seasons have failed to diminish Peay’s enthusiasm for the UMaine men’s program.
“Last year, I had some problems I was going through, but this year was quite a turnaround, even with my injury,” said the 6-foot-5 native of Brooklyn, N.Y., who missed seven games this season with a fractured upper jaw suffered in a Nov. 25 home game.
Since being medically cleared to play, he has come back with a vengeance. After averaging 2.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and one assist per game in his first five games this season, he’s averaging 9.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his last eight — despite having to play with a protective face mask and playing much more at the forward position.
Peay’s improvement coincides with that of Maine, which has won two of its last three. He has even earned his first three starts the last three games, but he’s not claiming credit.
“I think it’s just us playing hard and playing together more,” Peay said. “I think that’s where it all comes from. We’re moving the ball better and staying on the attack more.
“I think we were just tired of losing, to be honest. We all have a mindset now.”
Peay’s mindset is drastically different from a year ago, when he was struggling after a rocky start to his freshman year.
“I was basically in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Peay. “My roommate at the time had stolen property in his possession, but he had no idea it was stolen, and at the time, I was there when the police came into our room and searched it. That’s how I got in trouble.”
Peay received a cap bought with a stolen credit card and was initially charged with misuse of identification and receiving stolen property. He was also suspended from the team.
“I missed a couple games, but everything was straightened out,” Peay explained. “That’s probably the biggest thing I learned from that incident was to be more careful picking out my friends.
“I was worried I might lose my scholarship, so I feel like I got a second chance even though I never got in trouble.”
Still, the incident was not without other consequences.
“I kind of lost confidence in myself after that, but I talked to my family and they got me feeling better about things,” he said. “So last offseason, I worked out a lot and pretty much spent time only with friends I’ve had a long time and my family.”
Peay, who averaged 2.1 points and one rebound per game over 19 games last season, came back stronger as well as more confident and mature.
“He’s shown a lot of improvement from last year and we missed him a lot when he was injured. His maturity as a player is much better and he’s very savvy in the paint,” said Maine head coach Ted Woodward. “He also gives us a very calming influence out there.”
Maybe that’s because “out there” is where he’s at his best.
“I used to get nervous before basketball games, but now the court’s like my second home,” Peay said. “If I have a bad day or whatever, I’d go to the court or the gym because basketball calms me down.”