Jamari Wheeler is no stranger to winning. As a senior, he helped The Rock win 35 games, the most in TRS history.
Unfortunately, the Lions suffered a surprise loss in the SIAA State semi-finals to eventual champion Oldsmar Christian.
A week later, the Lions lost in The Grind Session Championship at the hands of eventual #1 overall pick of the NBA Draft, Deandre Ayton, and Hillcrest Prep.
Another championship alluding Wheeler, the “uber-competitor” as described by Coach Harden.
In college, Wheeler played and won at Penn State and Ohio State, but did not have the opportunity win either the Big Ten Conference Championship or the NCAA Championship.
The Wait Is Over
But the elusive championship trophy no longer evades him: Wheeler helped his team, Rayos de Hermosillo of Liga Chevron CIBACOPA in Mexico, win the 2024 championship!
He averaged 10.3 points, 5 assists, and 2.3 steals during the 4-game sweep of the Guadalajara Astros, including an 8-point, 8-assist effort in the final game.
Wheeler played in Slovakia last year and had two stints with the G-League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, the Grand Rapids Gold, before settling in Hermosillo for the remainder of the season.
The Heart of a Lion
Forever regarded as a “winner” in The Rock Basketball program lore, now Jamari Wheeler will also be a “champion” forever.
“Jamari is one of the greatest competitors in The Rock history,” said Coach Justin Harden.
“He hated to lose more than he enjoyed winning. I hated that we didn’t win his senior year — it’s one of the things that still bothers me to this day about that team because they worked so hard, played so hard, and competed at the top level, mostly because of the standard Jamari set.”
A Deserving Champion
“I am so happy for him to experience this championship because he has always been a champion in my book despite not winning one here,” added Harden.
“It’s not always the trophy that makes you a champion — it’s the journey that you take that makes you a champion as well.”
“But now he has the hardware to validate his title as champion, and for that, I am very happy.”
