How Ole Miss basketball star Jaemyn Brakefield is making a difference for one Oxford family

OXFORD — Malcolm Gillard met the man he now views as family in the auto care section of the Oxford Walmart.

Neither Gillard nor his mother, LaTasha, recognized Ole Miss basketball star Jaemyn Brakefield on sight. But standing at 6-foot-8 and sporting Rebels gear, they figured he had to be someone. 

LaTasha was inclined to leave Brakefield to his business. But Malcolm wasn’t having it. He wanted to chat. Putting his 9-year-old negotiating savvy to use, he convinced his mom to let him ask Brakefield for a picture. 

“We took pictures and we exchanged numbers that day,” LaTasha said. “Ever since then, they’ve been…”

“Connected like the WiFi,” Malcolm interjected, finishing his mom’s thought. 

A people person, Brakefield is comfortable in this kind of space; surrounded by air fresheners, trailer knob mounts and car cleaning products while holding court with complete strangers. Plenty of athletes might have shut down the interaction after snapping the courtesy photo. Instead, Brakefield started asking Malcolm and LaTasha questions. 

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© Courtesy of LaTasha Gillard Malcolm Gillard and Ole Miss basketball forward Jaemyn Brakefield

From the conversation, which LaTasha said took place in September, it became clear that Malcolm would benefit greatly from having a positive male role model in his life. 

“I asked him to be (Malcolm’s) mentor because me and his dad were going through a divorce,” LaTasha said. “With me being a single parent, I have my own business, it’s hard for a mom to raise two boys. I have a 17-year-old also. I asked if he could be his big brother.” 

Brakefield excitedly agreed, but LaTasha was still skeptical. Was someone as gifted – and busy ‒ as Brakefield really going to invest in her son? She thought it was all just lip service. 

But the following Saturday, Malcolm had a peewee football game. And Brakefield took his place in the stands to watch, demonstrating his intent.

Before long, he was taking Malcolm out once or twice a week. He’d show up at Della Davidson Elementary School to eat lunch or hang out at recess. He’d bring Malcolm over to his apartment to play in the pool or to work out with him at the Tuohy Basketball Center. 

They even had an eventful galavant through The Grove before an Ole Miss football game this season. 

“He was acting up,” Brakefield said with a big smile on his face. “He’s just a high-character kid. I just happen to be somebody who understands him because I was like that when I was younger.” 

Now in season, Brakefield has less free time, but he still ensures he sees Malcolm weekly. He calls three or four times every week, too, according to LaTasha. On his off days, he’s always stopping by Malcolm’s school or one of his youth basketball games. 

“He treats me like in his real brother,” Malcolm said. “...We just have fun, basically.”

© Courtesy of LaTasha Gillard Malcolm Gillard and Ole Miss basketball forward Jaemyn Brakefield

Brakefield is getting something out of this, too. He sees a version of himself in Malcolm and the way he happily bounces around from interaction to interaction. Like Malcolm, he always had his sights set on fun as a kid. Some of his favorite memories come from time spent with his own big brother, Andrew Knaack.

Malcolm provides Brakefield with an opportunity to pay that love forward. 

“I just get happiness,” Brakefield said. “I just see him having fun. Every time I go to the school he’s calling me big brother. You can just see him telling all his classmates, ‘That’s my big brother.’” 

Ask Rebels basketball coach Kermit Davis, who brought the Jackson native back to his home state as a transfer after a season at Duke, and he’ll tell you that this kind of generosity is consistent with who Brakefield has been since he arrived in Oxford ahead of the 2021-22 season. 

“That’s just Jaemyn being Jaemyn, when nobody’s watching,” Davis said. “He didn’t want anything out of it. That’s who he is. When guys are like that, you just want good things. You want good things to happen to everybody, but especially a guy like that who invests in our community and just does it because he wants to and he has a great love for young people.” 

Maybe Brakefieild is starting to receive some of the karmic payoff. He’s averaged 14.8 points over his last five games, shooting over 58% from the floor. He had his best game of the season on Tuesday night with a 24-point outburst that helped Ole Miss beat Georgia on the road. 

Malcolm and LaTasha were tuned in from home, where Malcolm is making progress, too.

Malcolm has ADHD, and that hyperactivity has often landed him in trouble at school.

Brakefield’s influence is helping him tackle some of those challenges.  

“Now, since Jaemyn’s been there, he’s been more like a big brother-slash-father-figure for him,” LaTasha said. “Because if he gets in trouble, it’s like, ‘I’m not coming to your school to eat lunch with you,’ or, ‘You’re not coming to my home.’ It’s a privilege. He has to do what he has to do to get to the games or for him to come to his school. He has done a tremendous turnaround.”

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Ole Miss basketball star Jaemyn Brakefield is making a difference for one Oxford family