Mr. Underrated: Myron Amey Jr. (San Jose State)
When we watch a Division 1 basketball game we see a lot of talented players coming from all over the world. We see the different skill levels and capabilities of these young athletes and how they are thriving at the college level. One thing we may not pay attention to is the many different journeys these athletes had to take to get to where they are. The journey of former Rampage player Myron Amey Jr. has been one of most fascinating stories I’ve personally ever witnessed. Beating the odds and setting new goals year to year has kept Myron hungry & humble, and allowed him to get to San Jose State and become one of the most interesting players in the Mountain West.
The first time I seen Myron was when we (Team Rampage) hosted a tournament from Grades 8-12th. One of the teams we invited to our tournament was Cali-Stars, who was a local team out of Fairfield, CA. Their head coach was Bishop Little who used to be my AAU coach when I was in 5th grade. The first player that caught my eye was a short 5’7’ guard that could shoot, and had a crazy motor. That player happened to be Myron Amey Jr. who was in the 8th grade at the time. Three years later Antonio Hodges (Rampage Director) calls me up to talk to me about a kid from Vacaville who was around 6’1’ that we should go after for AAU. After doing research, that player was Myron who had grew a few inches since I last saw him in 8th grade. We liked what we saw, brought him in for a workout, and the rest was history.
After playing his first AAU season with us his junior summer, Myron was starting to gain interest from schools but only from a couple of D2s and NAIA schools. While staying consistently in the lab working on his craft, he went on to play football his senior year and also grew 2 more inches to 6’3’. Everything started to slowly change. The first high school game of Myron’s senior year, he would put up a legendary performance against Christian Brothers High School (Sacramento, CA) including a viral dunk that would catch a lot of attention. Myron’s senior year was underway and everything started to click for him along with the growth spurt he had just caught.
“It was just trusting the work I put in up until that point my senior year that allowed me to go into the season with great confidence”.
Myron Amey Jr. stated.
“I was prepared mentally and physically for every game and I knew in order for me to get noticed in the area I’m in especially at the school I was at, I was going to have to do something crazy to get everyone’s attention and I also just understood where I was trying to get to and what the ultimate goal was”.
https://youtu.be/_6q70nSK8u4?feature=shared
After having a phenomenal senior season, Myron would also commit to playing another year of AAU as an unsigned senior.
With the spring of 2020 coming up, there was a lot of hope that Amey would get a late scholarship. More Division 1 schools were asking about him and were planning on seeing him once the Spring Live Period started. Everything would change 3 days before our 17u tryout as the Covid-19 disease would take over the world and change everything. No NCAA live period, which meant no looks for Amey, and he would have to commit to a postgrad year at Scotland Prep in Pennsylvania. He would spend his 2020-2021 season playing without any coaches being able to watch in person. He would return after the season to play for us one last time with hopes of getting a scholarship.
https://youtu.be/wki8A8tjSZU?feature=shared
The blessing would come as San Jose State offered him a full ride scholarship. He would show people that it’s okay to play for an independent program and still go division 1. Many programs went after him and stayed loyal. Amey would talk about the value of Independent AAU.
“Independent AAU is more more necessary in my opinion because you have to look at the bigger picture. Being independent forces you to play against the best, when you play against the best you’re naturally going to get better because you see where the bar is at and you challenge yourself to go and get there. Being independent, there is this chip on your shoulder in which it brings out something you probably didn’t think you had. Depending on the type of player you are, being independent can help boost your confidence because you’re getting reps and reps and from there you’re just constantly growing at a good rate”.
He also talked about how playing independent AAU can bring more meaningful relationships.
“Independent aau teaches you the game of life as well. You have your own little village of people who got you and believe in you and whoever isn’t with you it’s basically “forget them”. You have to have tremendous belief in the process and knowing it don’t look pretty now but down the road it’ll make sense”.
Now at San Jose State, Myron Amey Jr. will be a key player for them this year in the Mountain West. He has earned the trust of the coaching staff and his work ethic and character has put him in the position to see a lot of court time this season. However, things wasn’t always this way for him at San Jose State, as his first year he went through a major adjustment period. He would start the season off barely seeing any time through the first five games. Amey talked about the adjustments he had to make at the division 1 level.
“Biggest adjustment to division 1 basketball for me would be the mental side of the game. I knew I had the talent to be here but in order to take next step into being a successful d1 basketball player, the mental side is just as important as the skill work. You have to be able to stay mentally composed and be a true student of the game. There are so much little things that go into the game that good players may miss but the greats are greats cuz they capitalize on everything on the court. Once I learned and was able to control my emotions i started growing at a faster rate”.
His playing time situation would change with high production in limited minutes, and with players missing time due to Covid-19. He would string together a few breakout 20 point games and even started a few games to end his freshman year. Adversity would soon hit as he had to get 2 surgeries in less than a year on both ankles which would take away from his sophomore year. He would only play in 6 games. After recovering from the surgeries, Myron would have a phenomenal off-season this past summer. Working with myself, and Mark Jeffries of GGT Basketball, Myron would find his confidence again and is mentally in a good space.
https://youtu.be/RYJm_7pq6Go?si=yxAJxHFpID6q6HhH
“This year I don’t have any expectations for myself. I’m stepping into a year where I haven’t played basketball in a year, coming off my second surgery in two years, and really jus blessed to be back on the court. I’m approaching it as whatever happens, happens. But on the other hand this is the most prepared I’ve felt in my whole basketball career in terms of mentally and physically and the preparedness I have for the season so I won’t be surprised if there is a game I go off for 30 because I put in the time to be able to do that. But at the end of the day I’m jus going to do whatever it takes to get our team a win”.
His work ethic and drive is truly inspiring and there is no doubt he will bounce back from the injuries and have a great year. The ability he has to manifest his dreams into reality is something that anyone can be motivated by. He is also still optimistic about his ultimate goal and where he wants to be three years from now.
“3 years for now I hope to see myself on the biggest stage, NBA. I feel God has had full control of my journey and the things he has prepared me for and preparing me for is lined up for me to reach the ultimate goal and this is to play in the NBA. Of course it is an unlikely goal for someone like me who’s story doesn’t line up to do it but I know who I am and where I came from so all ima keep doing is putting in work and have great faith in the man above and everything else will work out itself”.