Full-circle father-son moment for Jami and Maxx Bosley: Jackson basketball hosts Wadsworth

JACKSON TWP. — Maxx Bosley is too smart, too perceptive to not feel the weight of the moment coming on Tuesday.

"Very stressful," the Wadsworth High School senior boys basketball player says with a laugh.

But clearly, it's a good pressure, the kind of pressure that comes with something deeply meaningful.

And, boy, Tuesday night's game featuring Jackson and visiting Wadsworth is layered with meaning.

The son of Jami Bosley will step onto the court where his dad played and became a Jackson and Stark County basketball legend.

Jackson also is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Polar Bears' 1993-94 team, which Jami Bosley led to the program's first state tournament appearance as a junior. Pretty much the entire team and coaching staff, including former Jackson head coach Larry Taylor, is expected to be in attendance. They will be honored before the game.

And for good measure, Maxx Bosley has a chance to become Wadsworth's career scoring leader. He needs 23 points to surpass the mark of 1,460 set just last year by former teammate and current Wright State player Solomon Callaghan.

"I mean, how cool would that be?" Jami Bosley said about Maxx potentially setting the record on his old stomping grounds.

It's storybook stuff, a full-circle moment for a father and son who share an incredibly close bond centered around basketball, family and faith.

"It will be special," Jami, now 46, said. "Jackson's always been a special place, and we did special things there. Even now, having some perspective, the majority of high school kids don't get to experience anything like that. Jackson will always be a place I call home, and Maxx has always been very fond of Jackson.

"It's shaping up to be a very special night."

It's a night Maxx Bosley has asked for going back to his freshman season. Maxx played some youth games at Jackson growing up. But this will be his first varsity game in the gym with his dad's No. 44 jersey number on the wall.

First-year Wadsworth head coach D.J. Schrock double-checked with Maxx back in the summer if he wanted to go through with it, to take on everything that comes with a moment like this, and Maxx didn't hesitate in saying yes.

"I was so stoked," Maxx said. "To think I can go back there and play where it's, like, his gym, it's such a huge blessing."

Jami is Stark County's career scoring leader with 2,077 points (and Jackson's career leader in rebounds and assists). His four-year varsity career included four Federal League titles, three district championships and the 1994 trip to state. He went on to play at Ohio State and the University of Akron.

"When you think about Jackson basketball, you think about Larry Taylor and Jami Bosley," current Jackson head coach Tim Debevec said. "Jami kind of put Jackson on the map."

The Polar Bears made another trip to state under Taylor in 2001, then won state championships in 2010 under Mike Fuline and 2017 under Debevec. Jackson has been a consistent winner the last three decades, and that includes this year's high-scoring, highly skilled team with a 14-4 record and a chance to grab a piece of the Federal League title. Jackson needs to beat McKinley and have GlenOak beat Green on Friday to share the league title with Green.

Debevec was a young assistant at Tallmadge for Jack Greynolds Jr. when the Bosley era was happening. A self-described gym rat, Debevec would scour the area to see other games when he had time. He found his way to Bosley's games on numerous occasions, whether at Jackson or at Akron (where his college career was highlighted by him averaging 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists and earning first-team All-Mid-American Conference as a redshirt junior).

"You may never see another Jami Bosley come through here for a long time," Debevec said. "A 6-foot kid who can score inside and out like he did, it was amazing."

Bosley averaged 20 points or more three times in his high school career. He went for 25.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game as a senior in 1994-95.

Bosley's unique style was part of the attraction. His game was about angles, aggression and brute force. He possessed quick hands and quick feet with his powerful 6-foot, 200-pound frame.

The 5-11, 190-pound Maxx, averaging 26.5 points and 4.4 rebounds this season for the 5-14 Grizzlies, shares many of the same traits.

"It's cool to hear people say, 'Man, you play just like your dad,'" Maxx says.

Jami didn't start lifting weights until college. Maxx, on the other hand, is no stranger to the weight room. Jami considers Maxx's chiseled physique now and says with a laugh, "I almost wish I would've allowed him to play football."

They both certainly know how to get to the free throw line with their physical styles.

Jami made 685 career free throws, which trail only Geno Ford, Bede Lori and current NBA Player Luke Kennard in Ohio history, according to unofficial OHSAA records.

Maxx made 27 of 28 free throws — good for a Medina County record — and scored 45 points in a Jan. 4 double-overtime loss to Twinsburg. (He scored a single-game school-record 47 points last year against North Royalton.)

Where father and son differ, as products of different eras of basketball, is on the perimeter.

Jami, who did the vast majority of his damage in the paint, made 13 3-pointers his senior year. Maxx has made 56 3-pointers this season.

"He's a much better shooter and much more confident shooter than I was at that point," Jami says.

Maxx, a four-year varsity starter like his dad, has seen his role grow over the years from supporting actor for older players to now the leader of this young Wadsworth team. While he hasn't experienced the team success he wanted this season, he's enjoyed the responsibility of being the No. 1 option and the guy to which his teammates look.

"I knew my senior year I was going to have a really cool chance to lead," Maxx says. "Obviously, our record's not great. But we have a really hard schedule. Over the past two or three weeks, we've worked so hard at practice and I'm so proud of our guys. ... I'm just really happy with the way we've responded and not quit. I pray that we can keep getting better. We have three games left and then it's tournament time."

Maxx plans to play at the next level. He has narrowed his choices to Malone University or Mount Vernon Nazarene.

Interestingly, Jami actually considered Malone as his second choice after Ohio State coming out of Jackson because he liked former Pioneers coach Hal Smith so much.

"His game is evolving," Jami said. "I think Maxx's best basketball days are ahead of him. I really do."

There was a time Jami, who works in safety and medical equipment sales, considered moving back to Jackson when Maxx was young. Jami has a deep affection for Jackson with the way he was nurtured and celebrated there. Maxx's grandmother only lives five minutes from the high school.

As much as Jami loved the school and the community, he feared what kind of spotlight that would put on Maxx.

"I made a decision through prayer, and I felt like God was telling me to let him go be himself," Jami said. "Honestly, it absolutely was the best decision. Maxx needed to go somewhere where he could be Maxx Bosley, not Jami's son. I just want Maxx to be Maxx. He's such a phenomenal kid, and I didn't want him to live in that shadow."

The closeness between father and son cannot be overstated.

They've gone on mission trips to Jamaica, Belize and Puerto Rico. They visit prisons as part of outreach programs. They talk about life and basketball.

Jami shares it all with Maxx, the good and the bad. He's talked about getting kicked out of Ohio State after his freshman season for being arrested in connection to three cars being broken into on campus.

He's talked about the alcohol and drug abuse that marred his life for a time.

He's talked about reconnecting to his faith and getting his life on track.

"He's my only son. He's the only son I'll ever have," Jami said. "He knows everything about me. He knows everything from basketball, from Jackson to Ohio State to Akron. He knows everything I've ever done as far as mistakes in my life, and I've made many. By the grace of God, he's fixed me.

"But Maxx is super aware. He knows because I share it with him and talk to him about my experiences. About how special it was and how unique it was."

They'll have another of those experiences to share on Tuesday.

Reach Josh at josh.weir@cantonrep.com 

On X: @jweirREP 

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Wadsworth High School boys basketball, Maxx Bosley ready for Jackson