“The Rock.”
Rahkeem Lehaman has had that nickname for as long as he can remember.
The Amanda Elzy junior standout can’t exactly recall the origin, but he knows it’s related to basketball.
Turns out to be a prophetic nickname for a player so good at dishing out the rock. The 6-foot-4 do-it-all Lehaman is well-known for his leaping ability that constantly keeps fans on the edge of their seats waiting for the next rim-rattling slam dunk. But it’s his passing skills that most impress his coach.
“He just makes everyone around him better because he’s such a great passer. He’s a great ball-handler with great court awareness, and he’s very unselfish” Elzy head coach Gerald Glass said. “Rahkeem is the glue to this team because he can play anywhere on the floor.”
Lehaman says his favorite part of basketball is getting his teammates involved on the court.
“I love to spread the ball around. I am a team player first,” Lehaman said. “I get that from my father (James Lehaman). He taught me that you can be a big scorer and still be a team player.”
So it’s no surprise that Lehaman leads the team in assists with eight per game.
Glass, a former college and NBA player, knows talent when he sees it, and he believes Lehaman will have a successful college career.
“He’s going to make some coach very happy one day. He has all the skills to be a great combo guard in college.”
But for now, Glass is proud to have someone who plays above the rim in the dominating fashion that Lehaman does. The high-flying junior had eight dunks in one game, a 100-55 rout of Pontotoc in the first round of the North 4A playoffs. His first dunk in a game came early in his career when he shocked the crowd with one as a seventh-grader in a junior high tournament.
“Everybody was telling me that I was going to be something special,” Lehaman said.
Senior guard Jalen Jones says it’s fun playing with a leaper like Lehaman.
“You can throw it up anywhere near the basket, and you know he’s going up and get it and finish it,” Jones said.
Glass sums it up neatly, “Rahkeem has showtime hops.”
Lehaman is Elzy’s second-leading scorer with 15.4 points a contest. He also averages eight rebounds and two steals a game for the Panthers, who are 25-5 heading into Monday’s MHSAA State 4A semifinals against Laurel (23-7).
But there was a time not long ago when Lehaman’s future for this season with the Panthers was in doubt. He was suspended from the team in the first half of last season after a falling out with Glass.
“Rahkeem still came to the games. He watched us win 15 of our last 20 before our season ended with a loss to Rosa Fort in the North 4A semifinals. He knew that we could have won that game with him as a part of the team,” Glass said. “He went to work last summer playing AAU ball in Jackson and came into this season determined to carry us to Jackson.”
Lehaman said he learned a lot from the experience and that it lit a fire in his gut.
“Some people were downing me, so I knew I wanted to come back and prove them wrong,” Lehaman said. “It was sad missing all those games, but I was happy they were winning. It really helped me in the long run.
“My main focus since rejoining the team has been leading Elzy to a state championship.”
n Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
