TIGER ON THE COURT
Cool in the clutch. An all-around dominator. True to her school. Janae Kent checks all the boxes for Oak Forest.
The event was an open gym at Oak Forest. Several varsity boys basketball players were working on their skills. Attacking the basket along with them was Janae Kent, the star of the girls basketball team.
Scrimmaging against the boys doesn’t bother Kent. She has been doing that for some time, and beating a lot of them.
In the stands, however, were 16 college scouts — all of them from Division I schools.
None of them were there to watch the boys. These were women’s basketball scouts. For their eyes, it was all about Kent.
Pressure?
“Not really,” Kent said, laughing. “Only because I’m used to playing in front of them during AAU. I’m so used to it, it wasn’t really a pressure feeling at all.
“It felt good, though. It’s like my hard work has definitely paid off, so it’s a good feeling, a good position to be in.”
Kent, a 6-foot-1 junior, has put Oak Forest in a good position to be one of the dominant teams in the south suburbs for the next two seasons.
She’s the undisputed leader for the Bengals, who in the short spring season won the overall championship of the South Suburban Conference.
Kent was especially clutch at the end of the conference season. The Bengals beat Tinley Park, Argo and Oak Lawn in a span of three days.
Oak Forest coach Jeff Kelly didn’t have to look up the stats.
“Janae had 22, 34 and 32 to finish those three days,” Kelly said. “The way we were playing, it looked like if we were to be in an IHSA state tournament, we could have made a little bit of a run there.”
Kent, who averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds, was chosen as the South Suburban Blue Player of the Year.
Dominator. Game changer. Program changer. Kelly never seems to run out of superlatives.
Or, for that matter, challenges. The latest is all-encompassing.
“This is now her team, officially her team,” Kelly said. “I’m expecting her to lead vocally, statistically and defensively. We have 99% of our scoring back. And if she goes defensively, our team is going to go.
“If she can get us some stops, some turnovers, it could be quite a season for us.”
Kent has been opening eyes from the
first night she played for the Bengals. In her first varsity game, she scored 30 points and had 10 rebounds. It would not be a fluke. When the games were in crunchtime, the ball would invariably wind up in her hands for an attempt to score. Many times, she ran the point and set up teammates for shots. She also was a force on defense, especially under the basket.
Guard? Forward? Center? Check. Check. Check.
In fall 2020, Kent had an opportunity to play for the Next LEVEL 24 15-U boys team at an event in Indiana. In two games, she led her team in scoring.
For every challenge, she had an answer. For this season, she’s challenging herself to take the leadership beyond the court.
She’s determined to help sophomore transfer Dajia Slaughter find her way around, not just on the court but in school.
“It’s good,” Kent said. “With Dajia, even out of school, I’ll be like, ‘Go to class. Have a good day. Go hard in practices.’ If she doesn’t understand a play, I’ll help her walk through it. I’ll just stay in her ear on and off court, about basketball, about life, about everything.
“It’s important now that I’m there for the younger girls. To step into that role is huge for me. Helping them on and off the court is easy. It’s fun.”
And a good way to show her gratitude for a career at Oak Forest filled with support.
“It means so much,” Kent said. “Coach Kelly, coach (Nick) Fuentes, all of the coaches put so much into me just to be here and give them my best.
“They’ve gone above and beyond for me. The least I can do is help, play basketball and do what I love.”