The mantle of leadership can sort of sneak up on you in high school basketball.
You start out as a freshman, just trying to make an impression, maybe playing a year of JV.
Then you improve and make varsity, start to show you can hang at this level, but there are always kids older and better and wiser than you are.
Then one day you’re Jake Kenyon, star of the Roslyn boys basketball team, and you’re a senior, and the top scorer and best player on the team, and you look around and realize you are the leader now.
It’s senior year and your time to show the others how it’s done.
“It’s something I’m growing into, getting better a little bit each time we play,” Kenyon said before a recent practice. “All of a sudden we have a lot of young guys this year, 8th grader, freshman and sophomores, and I’m trying to keep everyone pumped up and get on them a little when I need to.”
Kenyon averaged 12 points per game for the Bulldogs in 2023-24, and helped lead Roslyn to a breakthrough season, winning 18 games and advancing to the county semifinals, where they lost to South Side.
Chasing their first county title since 2009 this season, Kenyon and Roslyn have gotten off to a sizzling start.
The 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 22 points per game as Roslyn has started the season 4-1, including a win over defending state champion Elmont. Kenyon, scoring mostly from mid-range but also having an improved 3-point shot, pumped in 36 points in a win over Westbury on Dec. 2.
“I’ve always known Jake is a talented scorer, and a big-game player,” head coach Greg Tull said. “He’s an elite finisher and is really playing so well to start the year; we’ve needed him to be big and he has.”
Roslyn is indeed shorthanded at the moment, with key players like senior Zach Kuppersmith, point guard Danny Levine and 8th grader Keyshawn White all out with injuries.
They’ve stayed afloat largely due to Kenyon’s offensive outbursts. Not the biggest or the strongest, Kenyon pours in points from the 6-14 foot range, scoring on jumpers and drives and drawing fouls to get to the line.
“That’s my bread and butter, just getting to my spots and knowing I can score,” Kenyon said.
“I definitely put in a lot of extra work in the spring and summer, to get ready for my last year,” Kenyon said. “Winning counties has been a dream forever; this town really loves basketball so much, and when we win, it just feels like everyone is watching and rooting for us.”
Kenyon’s hoops journey started as a toddler, following around older brother Brandon, three years his senior (sister Nicki is six years older than Jake). An avid lacrosse player as well, basketball appealed to him because “you can give so much effort all the time, and it’s so fast-paced.”
He and Brandon had plenty of driveway 1-on-1 battles that toughened Jake up, with Jake smiling and saying “I win most of the time now.”
Last season was a revelation as Tull’s first year in charge had the Bulldogs go 18-4. Younger players like Kenyon and Kuppersmith and Benji Rubin all shone along with the senior class, and now are looking to go deeper.
“We just gained so much confidence from winning close games and getting people excited about our team again,” Kenyon said.
Tull pointed to a midseason win over Sewanhaka where Kenyon scored 24 points, as a turning point for his star guard.
“It was a massive game against a top opponent and he just took over,” Tull said. “Really gave us a big lift.
“Jake sneaks up on people who don’t think he’s going to score that much.”
With another offseason playing with Roslyn in leagues in Queens and Long Island, Kenyon is hoping to go a few wins further than last year, before hopefully playing in college (likely at the Division II or III level).
“Defense is going to be the big thing for us, defensive rebounding is where we really have to improve,” Kenyon said. “We know we can score. Just have to be better at defending.”
