Jarrard, Brasfield, O’Neal relish Hoosier Classic spotlight

By Paul Gable/ For Daily Reporter

KNIGHTSTOWN — During their respective careers, Mt. Vernon’s Amhad Jarrard, Eastern Hancock’s Landon O’Neal and New Palestine’s Steele Brasfield gave basketball fans in Hancock County plenty to cheer about.

The three put on a show Saturday during the Hoosier Gym Reunion Classic at the famous Hoosier Gym in Knightstown, as Jarrard and O’Neal represented the Terhune Tigers, while Brasfield suited up for the Hickory Huskers. When the dust settled, it was Terhune picking up an impressive 121-117 win in the all-star showcase clash.

Brasfield, who is headed to Indiana Tech to play, hit a total of three 3-pointers en route to capping his high school career with 13 points. Jarrard, who will suit up for IUPUI next season and was named a 2022 Indiana All-Star, finished with 12 points, six of which came in the fourth quarter. O’Neal, who is undecided, finished with one more team win.

The game was a special one for O’Neal, who began the 2021-22 high school regular season with the Class 2A Royals inside the Hoosier Gym.

“It’s pretty awesome. We started here, cool to start it here and finish it here,” said O’Neal.

O’Neal said the opportunity to play in the all-star game was a “different” feeling, compared to the caliber of competition he saw at Eastern Hancock.

“I like watching the movie ‘Hoosiers’ a lot. To play here once in a season is cool, but to be here twice is pretty awesome,” O’Neal said.

Much like O’Neal, Brasfield admitted he had watched the move a lot leading up to the game.

“It was fun to be out here with everybody. It is really nice to play here. I’ve been watching the movie in class the last two days, and it is really nice to see how they put all this together, and it means so much to the community and the state,” said Brasfield, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career with the Dragons.

Jarrard, who was named 2021-22 All-County Player of the Year by The Daily Reporter along with his twin brother Armon, was the only county player to get the starting nod in the game, and he took full advantage of the opportunity.

“It felt good to play with a lot of good players. Everyone had a good game, and it felt good to get out of here with a win. I thought I played pretty well, played off guard and let Pete (Sudar, of Carmel) get the ball,” said Jarrard, who finished his season averaging 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals.

Both Steele and Jarrard said the opportunity to play with and against the likes of Fletcher Loyer, of Homestead, who is headed to Purdue, as well as Central Noble standout Connor Essegian, who committed to Wisconsin, will help them as they prepare for the next level.

“It felt good. I know the talent will be just like this, and I’ll be able to come in and play just like I did in this,” Jarrard said.

Brasfield echoed those sentiments, adding the experience will pay dividends down the road.

“It definitely prepares me. A lot of those guys are Division I players. It’s not the same as a real game because everyone is just out here for fun, but it definitely prepares you for the future a little bit,” Brasfield noted.

And, as expected, Brasfield and Jarrard went back-and-forth one final time, continuing the Mt. Vernon vs. New Palestine rivalry.

With just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Brasfield hit a 3-pointer over Jarrard to put Hickory ahead 85-80. However, Jarrard would get the last laugh, ripping off six points down the stretch, including a thunderous dunk, to help lift the Tigers to the win.

At the end, the two embraced and were all smiles.

“Steele, that’s my guy. We had that Mt. Vernon-New Pal rivalry, but it felt good to see him play again, and he played well,” Jarrard said.

For Brasfield, the opportunity to play one final time against Jarrard was one he relished.

“I talked to Ahmad and we battled for four years. Today, it was good to play against each other one last time, especially where there’s not a lot of pressure and it’s just a good time,” Brasfield said.