By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Until recently, Jason Maxiell had been making more news with his mouth than with his play on the basketball court.

Nothing could be more out of character for the University of Cincinnati's 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, one of the quietest players on the team.

While Maxiell was struggling with his new role in UC's offense, he kept making pronouncements that caused reporters and UC coaches alike to wonder where they were coming from.

Before the Crosstown Shootout, he said Xavier's David West wasn't as tough as he was, then after West shredded the UC defense in XU's win over the Bearcats, Maxiell said that wouldn't have happened if he had been guarding the Musketeers' All-America forward.

He also declared after the loss to XU that the Bearcats needed to spend more time working on their shooting in practice.

Maxiell says his suddenly strong words are the result of his having been around the program for a season and being more comfortable expressing his opinions. Besides, he said, he was merely answering questions put to him by reporters.

"I was just being honest," he said.

Lately, though, Maxiell's play has far overshadowed his words. Lost amid the excitement over Tony Bobbitt's 29-point performance against No. 5 Oregon Tuesday night was a third straight solid performance by Maxiell, who scored a career-high 20 points to go with 13 rebounds, six of which were on offense. He converted three of those into baskets while making eight of 15 shots.

"I'm just focusing on rebounding," Maxiell said, "and the scoring came back easy."

After a rookie season in which he was named to the Conference USA all-freshman team and was voted C-USA's sixth man of the year, Maxiell was asked to shoulder more of the offensive burden for UC this season. With Donald Little and Jamaal Davis gone, it fell to Maxiell to be the dominant force inside instead of a member of the supporting cast, as he was last year.

And with the Bearcats receiving so little offense from their centers, Maxiell's work became even more crucial to UC's success.

It was a lot to ask of a sophomore assuming a starting role in college for the first time, and Maxiell didn't handle the responsibility very well during the first few games of the season.

"That's a big adjustment," said assistant coach Andy Kennedy, who works with the UC big men. "I think he's still adjusting to it. That takes some time."

Maxiell scored only 25 points over UC's first three games and repeatedly forced shots in the low post. He was just 6-of-27 in his first two games as a starter.

"At first, it was a little bothersome with all the pressure," Maxiell said. "But after awhile, I just let the game come to me."

He relaxed when he went back to doing what he does best - using his long arms and superior leaping ability to corral rebounds.

"Early in the season, he was really pressing," Kennedy said. "He lost his focus. We tried to get him back to thinking that his number one responsibility is to rebound the ball.

"By him focusing on getting back to rebounding the ball, it freed his mind and allowed him to react offensively."

Maxiell's recent play has been exactly what the Bearcats were hoping to get from him this season. In his last three games, he has averaged 15.3 points and 12.7 rebounds and has put together three straight double-figure rebounding games for the first time in his career, increasing his season averages to 12.1 points and 8.1 rebounds.

"He's not a very verbal guy," Kennedy said. "He can grow into that role, but what we're talking about is leading by example and showing the new guys the intensity it takes to be where we want to be. We have no problem with him in that respect. He brings it every day."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com