Etiwanda’s Jahmai Mashack will likely end up playing for a big-time college basketball program, but he will get there the hard way.
Hard as in, he was sickly as a child and overshadowed by his siblings, missed AAU ball two consecutive years due to rotten luck. And then the gut punch – his beloved grandmother Debbie Phillips died of the COVID-19 virus on May 19.
“It’s been the most difficult time of my life,” said Mashack, who played a key role in Etiwanda going 30-4 last season and reaching the CIF Southern California regional finals. “She was a loving woman and was always smiling. I might be getting yelled at by a coach or having trouble with my parents, but I could always go to her and she would love me and care for me and support me. By losing her, I lose a lot of love.”
There is still love. The four-star shooting guard, who will be a senior in the fall, has his father, Elton Mashack, mother, Meika, older brother, Kwesi, and younger sister, Malika. There is also Debbie’s husband, Pastor Sonny Phillips, of the St. Paul Family Ministries in Rialto. That is the non-denominational church the Mashacks attend.
“It’s devastated the family,” Meika said. “But (Jahmai’s) not dramatic. It’s been gut-wrenching for me. He’s had to watch his mom cry every day and he’s kept it to himself and didn’t even tell his teammates for a long time.”
The coronavirus struck quickly. First Debbie felt like she had a cold, then her stomach hurt. Two days later, she went on a ventilator. It was downhill from there.
There are pictures of Mashack with his grandmother whom he called “Nani.” In one she has her arms draped over him from behind, with both looking so happy.
Social media can reveal much about teen-agers. Mashack’s Twitter account is @JahmaiM. Underneath he’s written: “God First/Fam Next/Etiwanda Basketball on deck/Matt 23:12/RIP Nani.”
Matthew chapter 23, verse 12 from the Bible says: “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Mashack is selfless, according to Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Corey Evans of Pittsburgh.
“I love him,” Evans said by phone from Pennsylvania. “He’s someone who has blown up (recruiting-wise) without a travel season. He’s strong and long and tough-nosed and he wants to play defense. It’s hard to find kids who take pride in playing defense and he’s all about team.”
Continued Evans, “He has a mid-range jumper and is a good athlete and there aren’t many flaws to his game. His trajectory is more than promising. And he has confidence – there’s just something different about him. He has intangibles that you’re drawn to. And he has a great pedigree with his dad and his mom.”
Elton and Meika Mashack met as teens at St. Stephen’s Baptist Church in La Puente. Elton was a star basketball player at Bishop Amat High School. Meika was a track and field standout at Walnut High.
Elton became a standout at Loyola Marymount, then played overseas. He’s now a firefighter. Meika ran track at UNLV, but transferred to Cal. She is the CEO of Coaching Without Walls, where she provides life coaching and counseling to professional athletes, among others.
Jahmai Mashack, 17, stricken with a rare virus as a child, was a late bloomer. Athletically he lived in the shadow of brother Kwesi, who played football at Vista Murrieta High and the University of Arizona, and Malika, a youth track and field star who is now a two-sport athlete at Etiwanda.
“He was sickly,” Meika said of Jahmai. “He wasn’t coordinated and had no balance. He had to learn how to walk again. I told him ‘Just be happy for your brother and sister. Your time will come,’ and it did. But it took time.”
Mashack has thrived, though a fractured foot between his sophomore and junior year and the coronavirus this year have wiped out his past two AAU seasons. He made the Cal-Hi Sports all-state second team in the highest division last season.
He also has a 3.2 grade-point average.
Mashack showed his prodigious ability against Rancho Christian in the state playoffs by scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds in a 67-61 victory. More important, he helped hold Rancho Christian 7-footer Evan Mobley to seven points; that may have even prompted a smile from intense Eagles coach Dave Kleckner.
Mashack has a dozen Division I college offers, but he keeps working. He trains every morning by running, shooting, dribbling with gloves on, exercising, stretching and then shooting some more.
His family and his faith sustain him and propel him forward.
“There’s a lot going on with this pandemic and he just prays and stays faithful,” Meika said. “Our faith is our faith. And even through injuries and everything else, he hasn’t lost faith. Faith is what’s gotten him through.”
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THE MASHACK FILE
Name: Jahmai Mashack
School: Etiwanda
Miscellany: Resides in Fontana … plays the piano … known for his stylish hairdo with red tips … first name in Hebrew means “May Lord Protect” … No. 49 in the Rivals.com national rankings and No. 4 in the state for class of 2021 … working on improving his ballhandling and finishing through contact … seeks a college program that will stress player development and where he can play right away.