Coatesville guard Jhamir Brickus is following in the footsteps of NBA star Richard Hamilton

After Terrell Myers’ basketball squad got beaten several times, he decided to put on his general manager’s cap to get to the root of his team’s loss.

“I stood above, and I just watched the game,” said Myers, the director and 17-and-under basketball coach at WeR1, an AAU program based in Delaware. “And I was like, ‘Wow, it’s that kid! He’s the one!’ ”

That kid was 14-year-old Jhamir Brickus on his local Coatesville AAU team, torching WeR1 with his quick first step and jump shot.

Fast-forward two years later, and Brickus plays AAU ball for Myers at WeR1.

But besides that, not much has changed for the junior combo guard out of Coatesville High. Brickus is still a headache for opposing defenses, and the Unionville boys’ basketball team learned that the hard way on Wednesday.

Brickus scored 21 points as the Red Raiders edged Unionville, 68-64, to win the Ches-Mont League championship. He has also climbed his way up the program’s all-time scoring ladder and knocked off a local legend in the process.

In Coatesville’s game against Avon Grove in early February, Brickus scored 40 points in an 89-54 victory to surpass Richard Hamilton, a former Red Raiders guard and three-time NBA All-Star who won the NBA Finals with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.

“He was a college champion [at Connecticut] and an NBA champion, so it feels good,” Brickus said. “It feels like I’m on a path to somewhere.”

Brickus has 1,639 career points and averages 26.6 points per game this season. He trails only former Coatesville and Seton Hall star John Allen, who recorded 2,371 points, on the program’s all-time scoring list.

A two-star prospect, Brickus already holds college offers from La Salle, Rider, and Bryant. He also has received interest from Virginia Commonwealth, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Drexel, and Siena.

But Brickus said he has been under-recruited because he is 5-foot-10. He said he’s not bothered by the lack of offers so far, and he’s confident in his ability to succeed as a guard at the next level.

“I see myself as the Allen Iverson type,” Brickus said. “He was like a point guard that could go out and get his and break people down and score buckets. That’s like my game.”

Coatesville coach Fred Thompson said that like Iverson, Brickus never backs down from a challenge against taller players. Thompson views Brickus as one of the best finishers at the rim he’s ever seen in his 26 years of coaching.

“This kid is an unbeatable offensive player,” Thompson said. “Jhamir has a really high basketball IQ that makes him so much better than a lot people he plays with or against.”

This summer will be important for Brickus to gain more exposure at AAU tournaments across the country.

Both Brickus and Myers expect more offers to roll in. Myers said Brickus will take his game to the next level and follow the tradition of top-notch talent that has come out of the WeR1 program.

Myers compared Brickus to players such Bonner-Prendergast guard Isaiah Wong, Abington forward Eric Dixon, and former St. Benedict’s (N.J.) guard Trevon Duval, who now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Wong will head to Miami next year. Dixon will stay local at Villanova, and Duval played his college ball at Duke. As far as Myers is concerned, Brickus is next in line to suit up for a blue-blood program.

“He’s an inspiration for the other kids in his area,” Myers said. “And I think at the moment he won’t recognize that, but it’s that big of a deal. You are the new Rip Hamilton of your area.”