Beyond the Numbers: Getting to Know Redan's Amare Medhin

Amare Medhin didn't play like a freshman last season. He played like someone who already knew where the defense was going before it got there.

The Redan guard made varsity basketball look like something he had been doing for years. He averaged 21.6 points per game and shot 44 percent from three, but the numbers only tell part of the story. What stands out is how unhurried he is getting to his spots. He changes speeds, works comfortably out of ball screens, and has the range to punish defenders who go underneath. He also averaged 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals, proof that his impact reached well beyond the scoring column.

That kind of freshman production doesn't stay quiet for long. Medhin recently picked up Division I offers from Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, two of the biggest programs in the state.

His path to this point started years earlier, and not the way you might expect.

Basketball Wasn't the Plan

His dad put him in the game at five, and early on, Medhin didn't enjoy it and didn't want to play. His father and his coach kept encouraging him anyway. A year later, something clicked, and he now calls sticking with it one of the best decisions he's ever made.

That early push shaped more than his interest in the game. It shaped how he sees it. Medhin says his father was teaching him lessons long before other coaches ever got to them, which helps explain why he reads the floor the way he does so early in his career.

"He's almost more passionate about the game than I am," Medhin said. "I'm just blessed to have someone that close to me who knows the game and cares about it like I do."

The Work Behind It

The composure he plays with comes from a routine he sticks to every day of the season.

Medhin is in the gym by 6:30 a.m. for an hour-long workout before school, lifts between classes, and finishes the day with two hours of team practice. If he missed his morning session, he makes it up after practice or stays late to get shots in. Nights end with ice, homework, and usually a basketball game playing until he falls asleep.

None of it is flashy. That's the point. The ease people see on game night is the product of doing the same unglamorous things every single day. That discipline carries into the classroom, too, where he holds a 4.0 GPA.

Quiet, With a Purpose

The people closest to him would describe him as quiet, laid back, and caring. Off the court, he keeps to himself, but he goes out of his way to help people and make their lives easier when he can. He also has a talent most opponents would never guess. He loves watching and learning about cooking, and he'll tell you he can hold his own in the kitchen.

That instinct to look out for others shows up on the floor, too. As a freshman on a varsity roster, he stepped into a leadership role without forcing it. He already knew his teammates well and understood there was no room to be shy or nervous.

"It felt natural," he said. "I had to lead by example."

Something for Redan to Rally Around

At a school better known for baseball, Medhin's rise has given classmates a new reason to show up and show support, and he's noticed the difference in how people see him.

For a kid who grew up nearby watching big games in packed, loud gyms, that support carries extra weight.

"Being here now with the community supporting me like they are feels surreal. It just reminds me how fast time flies."

Handling the Off Nights

Even a 44 percent three-point shooter has nights when the ball won't fall. When that happens, Medhin shifts his focus to everything else. He guards harder, boxes out so teammates can grab rebounds, and keeps encouraging the guys around him.

When the game gets hard in general, he slows his thinking down and reminds himself to be grateful, because it could always be worse. When things get overwhelming, he leans on his parents and his faith in God. It's the same steadiness he shows with the ball in his hands, just coming from somewhere deeper.

Bigger Than Buckets

For all the scoring, Medhin measures his value somewhere else. He sees his job as being an extension of the coach on the floor, leading and putting teammates in the right position, whether that means getting a basket or getting a stop.

And he already knows how he wants to be remembered.

"As someone who always put others before himself," Medhin said, "and wanted to see others succeed before he did."

The five-year-old who didn't want to play has become the teammate everyone wants to play with.