The most shining example of Janae Kent’s ability as a leader for Oak Forest emerged during the Class 3A state playoffs.
Teammate Olivia Baxa hit some big shots.
Teammate Colleen Zarembski hit some big shots.
Teammate Emily Malloy hit some big shots.
Bengals coach Jeff Kelly calls that The Kent Effect.
“They all fed off of Janae’s energy,” Kelly said. “Her desire to want to go as far as we could as a team really motivated everybody to step up.
“She 100% brought the best out of them. She was a driving force from day one all the way to the end.”
Oak Forest did go far — all the way to the Sweet 16. And Kent, the 2021-22 Daily Southtown Girls Basketball Player of the Year, steered the Bengals with authority.
The 6-foot-1 junior guard/forward averaged 26.3 points and 9.5 rebounds. She averaged a double-double in conference with 25 points and 10.7 rebounds. She was the South Suburban Blue Player of the Year for the second time and earned first team all-state honors.
Big games? You bet.
Kent scored 30 or more points 10 times. Twice she topped 40, including a career-high 46 against Plainfield North.
Her own big games, however, didn’t mean as much to her as her teammates’ big shots.
“I always tell the girls to keep shooting, you’re doing good,” Kent said. “I love keeping everyone positive. I need them so I can play too. It’s a real team thing.”
When Kent enrolled in 2019 at Oak Forest, the buzz in the community was that she was coming in as a leader.
“My mindset wasn’t even close to that, not at all,” Kent said, laughing. “I just wanted to come in and play basketball. I didn’t realize that there were more levels to basketball. I wanted to just come and play and that was it.”
The buzz became reality when Kent scored 30 points and had 10 rebounds in her varsity debut. Kent was surrounded with support from older teammates.
“That helped big-time,” Kent said. “All the relationships with our team were so good. Being around that made me want to work harder, not just for myself but for the other girls and the coaching staff.”
To say nothing of her motivation at home.
Kent’s older brother Jayson, now a sophomore at Bradley, earned honorable mention all-state honors for Oak Forest. He scored 1,290 points in his career.
He was the first in the family to be a leader for the Bengals.
It definitely rubbed off.
“I got that mindset from my brother,” Janae said. “I would say freshman year was the hardest for me transitioning into that leadership role and my brother helped me all he could.
“He’s my best friend, my motivation. Every day, when I get into a situation, I think about what Jayson would tell me to do. I want to be good for my brother.”
The Bengals (19-11) had to overcome some roster changes midway through this season. It resulted in Malloy not only having to play the point more but also shoot more to counter the double and triple teams on Kent.
“Janae made sure to tell me the whole team was supporting me and we were all there for each other,” Malloy said. “The support in general was amazing, but then to get it from someone like Janae, that she had my back, gave me a lot of confidence.”
Malloy responded in a huge way during a playoff game against Crete-Monee, when she nailed three 3-pointers.
Just another example of The Kent Effect.
“All of her skills and assets she brings to the game helps us settle into what we have to do,” Malloy said. “She takes the pressure off us.
“Everyone has off days, but she never does, so it makes us all feel better and confident in ourselves. “
A college coach’s dream? They’ll have to wait one more season.
There may be more surprises.
“On the court, I want to work on ballhandling and extending my range,” Kent said. “Off the court, I want to be here for the girls on the team and for the younger girls coming up.
“I’m definitely looking forward to next season with the coaches we have and the other girls. We all want it for each other.”
