Athlete of the Week: Mt. Vernon senior guard achieves dream of being Indiana All-Star

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Since he was little, Amhad Jarrard wanted to be an Indiana All-Star.

“It was a dream come true for me,” Amhad said of being named to the Indiana Boys All-Star team. “It was a goal throughout high school.”

Indiana will play Kentucky in the annual series June 10 at Owensboro, Ky., and June 11 at Southport High School in Indianapolis.

Amhad averaged 14.6 points on 63 percent shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals last season. His twin brother, Armon, averaged a team-high 16.3 points on 57 percent shooting, including 49 percent from 3-point range. Amhad typically plays shooting guard and 6-foot-3 Armon plays point guard. The brothers, who were three-year starters, are headed to play together at IUPUI.

“The biggest improvement I made was getting my teammates involved and being more of a leader and being able to score when I had to as a team,” Amhad said. “Overall, my confidence went up. Coach (Ben) Rhoades kept telling me to keep going, get everyone involved and do you.”

Amhad made 71 percent of his two-point shots.

“That’s almost unheard or,” Rhoades said. “Amhad is very athletic. He’s probably one of the four or five best dunkers in the state. It’s hard to quantify all the things he’s done for us over the last three years. He always could have scored more points, but I say this about he and his brother, they really wanted to win.

“They’re kind of a coach’s dream in that they are calm. You almost want them to have a little more fire at times.”

Mt. Vernon finished 22-3 this season, winning its second consecutive sectional title.

“We played together as a team and came together to get big wins in a lot of close games,” Amhad said.

Rhoades said the Marauders wouldn’t have won 39 games the past two seasons without the brothers’ contributions.

“They’re so versatile you can use them anywhere you want to,” Rhoades said. “They’re a problem for other teams guarding (them).”

Amhad said he and his brother support each other.

“We push each other a lot,” Amhad said. “When I see he’s not doing good in games, I say, ‘You got to get something going.’”

Amhad thhey were prepared to play at different colleges.

“We thought we were going to go separate ways,” Amhad said.

But when IUPUI offered scholarships to both, they decided to continue playing together.

“I want to improve my catch-and-shoot, my pull-up jump shot and make it more efficient,” Amhad said. “Since the end of the season, I’ve just been working out with my trainer.”

Favorite athlete: LeBron James

Favorite subject: Math

Favorite movie: “He Got Game” and “Poetic Justice”

College plans: Major in finance at IUPUI


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