Marquette men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams is not having nearly as easy a go of it as he had last season.

Monday the team announced freshman forward Jeronne Maymon was leaving the team effective immediately, adding another Golden Eagle to the list of those lost for the 2009-’10 season.

According to Williams, he sat down with Maymon and his family Monday afternoon, at which point Maymon expressed his unhappiness with his role on the team. Williams also said that Maymon had never expressed his unhappiness to the coaching staff prior to Monday.

“I think that he was growing,” Williams said. “I think that he was getting better. But (Maymon and his family) didn’t feel like the progress relative to the pace was working out to their satisfaction.”

Williams insists Maymon’s departure was not “hateful” in any way on either side, but that it happened so fast there was no real opportunity for reconciliation between the two parties.

Junior Jimmy Butler agreed with his coach’s statements.

“Nobody really knew,” Butler said. “After we found out it had already happened, it was already done. So I don’t think anybody really got a chance to sit down with (Maymon) and tell him, ‘Man, don’t do it, this is where you belong.’ ”

Almost as soon as news broke of the Maymon departure, Marquette fans began questioning the commitment of prized 2010 recruit Vander Blue, a good friend and former teammate of Maymon’s at Madison Memorial High School.

Williams will allow fans to rest easy, however, as he said Blue’s commitment remains unaffected by Maymon’s departure.

“I did not recruit Vander and his family based on his relationship with Jeronne Maymon, because I think that puts me in a negative position with Vander and (Maymon),” Williams said. “We built a relationship as a staff with Vander Blue and with his family based exclusively on Vander Blue and his family.”