INDIANAPOLIS — He was with them for just one week, but that was plenty of time for Mt. Vernon’s Amhad Jarrard to make a positive impression as a member of the 2022 Indiana Senior Boys All-Star basketball team.
In the second half of Indiana’s dominant performance — wrapping up a sweep of its annual all-star series with the Kentucky All-Stars Saturday night at Southport Fieldhouse — Indiana head coach Chad Johnston drew up a special play for the Marauder star.
“He didn’t get in that much (Saturday). I wanted to reward him for having a good attitude on the bench,” Johnston, who is the head coach at South Bend Adams, said. “So I said, ‘Let’s set something up for Amhad so he can get a dunk.’ (IUPUI) is getting a really good one.”
Off of a timeout, Lawrence North’s C.J. Gunn, who is headed to Indiana University, tossed the pass toward the basket and, as Mt. Vernon fans have seen throughout Jarrard’s career, Amhad doesn’t disappoint when he gets himself up by the rim.
The alley-oop pass and dunk was a success.
“Coach drew it up and (C.J) said he was going to throw it no matter what,” Jarrard said. “I just had to go up and get it. He said he was going to throw it up there even if (the play) wasn’t there. It felt good. I’m one of the most athletic guys on the team. I knew if they drew that up for me it would get me going.”
Jarrard said he had a great week being a part of this year’s Indiana All-Star team.
On the court, Indiana swept the annual two-game series for the third straight time and 11th time in the last 13 years. They own a 103-44 all-time advantage in the series that started in 1939. Indiana has won 44 of the last 52 games.
Both victories this year were convincing. At Southport, Indiana won 101-81. On Friday night in Owensboro, Ky., Indiana came out on top 104-77.
Jarrard’s successful dunk was his first bucket of Saturday’s game. Later, he had another lay-in and finished with four points in just over 12 minutes of playing time. He also had one blocked shot.
“I think it went well. The score speaks for itself,” Jarrard said of the sweep-clinching victory. “We came out and did what we had to do. I think I came in (this week), did well and created a spark plug for us (off the bench) and got us going.”
On Friday, Jarrard had eight points on 3 of 6 shooting, tied for the team-high in assists with five, and added three rebounds, and two steals. He also had eight points and a pair of dunks in Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars at Mt. Vernon High School. In his final game on his home court, Jarrard came off the bench and helped the seniors get their biggest leads of the game on the way to a 90-75 win.
“It was a good (experience),” Jarrard said of his time with the team made up of 14 of Indiana’s best senior high school basketball players. “I got to get to know the players for a couple of days and carry a bond with them.”
“(IUPUI is) getting a really skilled player,” Johnston added. “He works hard and is coachable. He really impressed me with his attitude and work ethic. He is just a really, really solid player and I think he is only going to get better. I was happy to get to know him as a person, early, and then as the week went on, I was really impressed with him.”
Next up for Jarrard is joining his twin brother, Armon, as part of the incoming recruiting class at IUPUI.
The two helped lead Mt. Vernon to back-to-back sectional titles. Their final Marauder team went 22-3 and undefeated at home and in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.
“I think my career (at Mt. Vernon) went well. I just want to thank everyone from Mt. Vernon, the community, coach (Ben) Rhoades and the coaching staff,” Amhad added. “Hopefully (Armon and I) come in, get better, try to get on the floor and do what we did at Mt. Vernon.”
All-star week had plenty of Mt. Vernon connections. Along with Amhad being part of the all-star team, coach Rhoades was an assistant coach for the Junior All-Stars. Former Mt. Vernon head basketball coach Steve Lynch, now at Brownsburg High School, was an assistant coach on the Indiana Senior All-Stars.
