Framingham's Amir Lindsey carries football's lessons in Rivers School basketball career

BOSTON – The chant echoed from the Rivers student section through TD Garden’s lower bowl.

“You can’t guard him!”

Clap. Clap. Clap-Clap-Clap.

Rivers point guard Amir Lindsey barked at the Tabor defender who couldn't impede his Euro step through the green paint for a layup during the Andrew James Lawson Foundation Invitational in January.

"Oh my God!" he yelled.

Sometimes the senior even impresses himself.

"When he shows up to big games, he shows up with his voice, the way he plays,” Rivers basketball coach Keith Zalaski said. "He's not afraid of anything."

Standing 5-foot-10, Lindsey couldn't afford fear. He's often the smallest player on the court or field. His teammates still look up to him in the huddle.

"I'm always an underdog. I always gotta prove somebody wrong," said Lindsey, from Framingham. "In the big games, they lean on me. I really appreciate it. It's a huge honor for me."

All or nothing

Lindsey recently scored his 1,000th point for Rivers, where he's played for four years, on Valentine's Day. He signed with Albany's men's basketball program in November and is the No. 12 prospect in the state, according to New England Recruiting Report. The Red Wings (21-2) have won their last nine games and haven't lost since Jan. 20 against St. George's with Lindsey as the catalyst.

"If you're in the trenches with him playing games, it's hard not to have a lot of confidence in him as a player as a person," Zalanski said.

Both of those come from his family. Amir is the middle child among three siblings. His older brother Kalyl is a defensive back at Brown, while his younger sister Layla helped the Red Wings volleyball program set a program wins record and reach the NEPSAC championship game for the first time.

"It goes along with something my wife (Dellren) and I speak about in our household, if you’re going to commit to something, be the best version of yourself while doing it," said Randdy Lindsey, Amir's father and Rivers football coach since 2020. "That’s something we’ve always preached. If you’re going to be in it, be in it. If you’re going to dip your toes in the water, you can’t do it. It’s all in or it’s nothing."

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That's how Amir approached both football and basketball. He started with Pop Warner at age 5 as a running back then transitioned to receiver and defensive back once he arrived in high school.

"He has a real natural, raw ability to be athletic. He can remember things really well. He’s a really good leader. He does a lot of it via showing it vs. saying it," Randdy said. "He has the it factor. He could be on any kind of game surface, field, court, anything, he will be successful. He will be an outlier of all the other athletes out there."

Selfishly, Randdy hoped Amir would continue with football as long as he could. The lifelong football guy relished watching his son run routes, spy on quarterbacks, catch the ball, put defensive backs and take on double teams.

"He makes the game enjoyable to watch," Randdy said.

"Basketball was my first love"

None more so than in his last game. Amir caught four touchdown passes and three interceptions in the team's NEPSAC Bob Souza Bowl win in November. Lindsey didn't leave the field and compiled 219 receiving yards while returning kicks and punts.

"He had spectacular catches. His catch radius is will catch anything, catch really well in traffic. Won’t go over the middle," Randdy Lindsey said, with a laugh, "Unless it’s a deep post. But anything outside, he’s a complete matchup nightmare."

That kind of performance should have attracted attention from college football coaches the region and country over. They largely stayed away because they knew Amir chose basketball.

"When I picked it up the first time I felt great. I just had a special connection," Amir said. "Basketball is really the one sport where you can just go ahead and take over like one player can really make the impact. And I just I love playing I love playing with my team. It's just greatest experience. Basketball was my first love."

He still didn't treat football like a second option. Amir played football to spend time with his father and his brother. That meant going all in with summer and spring workouts plus playing the game in the fall.

"I grew up in a football family," he said. "I wanted to finish it for them."

Randdy never pushed him for more. He just wants Amir to be successful at whatever he chooses.

"That's what we cared about," Randdy said. "It was never a push to do one thing or another."

A football mentality on the hardwood

There are shades of Amir the football player when he steps on the hardwood. The gridiron gave him a toughness not every point guard possesses. Amir drives fearlessly through the lane despite towering defenders.

"He can absorb and take contact and figure out space in a way that's hard to teach," Zalanski said.

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Zalanski watched Lindsey grow up from the middle schooler running around the gym to the fun loving, lead by example captain that lights up every room. He's always joking and keeping the mood light off the court

"He shows up with a ton of energy. It breeds confidence," Zalanski said. "He's a remarkable kid."

Lindsey chose Albany among offers from Bryant and Florida Gulf Coast. Great Danes assistant KJ Baptiste mentored Amir from a young age, and their relationship made the America East school feel comfortable.

"When you're that close to a kid you always have bias, but I've never really seen him outplayed in a game," Zalanski said. "For me, what matters when kids are winners, and Amir is the biggest winner I've ever been around."

That's something rulers can't measure.

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Albany basketball commit Amir Lindsey keeps family football lessons