'Trying to get healthy': Richwoods basketball leading scorer not using anemia as an excuse

No health-related excuses will ever come from Jamauri Winfrey.

The Richwoods senior is anemic, but he won’t play that card. Winfrey is back on the court this boys basketball season following a junior campaign that saw him average 23 points a game.

Anemia is a serious condition and happens when the body doesn’t have enough red blood cells, which carries oxygen throughout the body. The all-state guard was sidelined to start the Rockford Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament.

He then returned to face the hosts on Nov. 24, scoring 11 points.

“It’s been an ongoing problem,” the all-Big 12 Conference first-teamer said, “but recently it’s been bad like (in the last) two weeks…

“Trying to get healthy. Working on that every day. Taking what I need to do. Hopefully, I’ll be 100% soon.”

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A combination of iron supplements, calcium and orange juice has helped Winfrey combat some of anemia’s symptoms, including fatigue and dizziness. This meant consulting his doctor about his eating habits.

Now, he’s more meticulous than ever about what he’s consuming daily.

“Everything in my diet had to change for me in order for me to play (at the level) where I want to,” Winfrey said.

Returning to his old form doesn’t seem to be a problem. Although coming off the bench in last Friday’s 52-45 win over Class 3A third-ranked Peoria Notre Dame, Winfrey scored a team-high 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

He also grabbed a game-high five rebounds, despite playing against a PND frontline that was five and six inches taller than him.

“It’s a lot of size, but you just be strong and try to finish over them,” the 6-foot-2 Winfrey said. “I’ve been inside, (undersized) my whole life against (players) like that. You just got to fight through it and keep playing hard.”

Richwoods coach William Smith says he was happy with how Winfrey didn’t try to force anything against PND, but rather just fit into the flow of the offense. More than anything, Smith was concerned how Winfrey would adjust to being thrown cold into a loud environment.

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No problem there.

“He looked good (against PND),” Smith said. “It was more for him being mentally ready and mentally focused to come off the bench and perform. I thought he did well.”

The win over PND snapped a five-game skid against the Irish, including a five-point loss in the 2019 3A regional title game.

“This is a ‘across the street’ rivalry,” Smith said. “It’s a game you always want to win. We know our recent history with them. They’re a very good program. I won’t say it’s a confidence booster. It’s just something we want to build on.

“We felt like we had chances in the past that we let slip away and we just didn’t want to do that… We want to build on this and keep it going. This isn’t the pinnacle. This is just the beginning for us, and we just got to continue to grow and get better.”

Winfrey, who scored a game-high 15 points in Saturday’s 52-34 win over Illinois Valley Central, is just one piece of a deep and talented Knights team. They have started the season with a 3-2 record and play at home against Manual at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Seniors dominate the Richwoods starting lineup with Winfrey, guards Javon Brewer, Carlos Beck and Jalyen Brown, along with forward Jeremiah Welch. Also in the mix is D.J. Porter, Michael Womer, Ethan Martin, Marquel Newsome and Greg Burnside.

This group has flown under the radar, partly because of the pandemic-shortened spring season.

“We’ve been together all four years and we’re like family now,” Winfrey said. “I’ve known them my whole life, every last one of the seniors.”

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Smith also had a feeling the class of 2022 could be a special group.

“Our goal is just to come out and play with intensity,” the 12-year coach said. “They’re a hard-working group. They’re just a bunch of fighters on the court. And that’s what we like about them, we just try to beat teams with plain hard work.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball: Richwoods leading scorer not using anemia as excuse