Senior enters leadership role on the basketball court

Transfering to a new school when you are halfway done with high school can present difficulties. Senior Jake Provost experienced this, first attending Fresno Christian his junior year.

Provost started his first year of high school at Clovis North but did not agree with many of the students or teachers about school and religious beliefs. After deciding to leave Clovis North spent his sophomore year at home. But after a year of homeschool, one of Provost’s family friends, the Hamm family, suggested he attend FC. 

Entering his junior year, Provost arrived on campus along with the Hamm brothers, the only other students he knew. In an attempt to create new friends, he joined a sports team.

“I have been playing basketball for two years now,” Provost said. “I love this sport, to get five people to work together to score is very hard to do and to do it will is very exciting. I joined to help me to make some new friends and it is also a good way of exercise. My favorite part of basketball is shooting because the joy of making a shot is fantastic. I play shooting guard for the team and I also enjoy defense because being successful in that sets up the offense.”

Landon Goldsborough, ‘19, has played basketball since seventh grade and begins this season as his second year of competing with Provost. Goldsborough appreciates all of the tips from the seniors and especially from Provost because of his positivity.

“All of the seniors have helped me develop my skills,” Goldsborough said. “During the summer, Jake encouraged me to work harder during the workout sessions. He’s a really good teammate and fun to be around.”

I love this sport, to get five people to work together to score is very hard to do and to do it will is very exciting. I joined to help me to make some new friends and it is also a good way of exercise. My favorite part of basketball is shooting because the joy of making a shot is fantastic. I play shooting guard for the team and I also enjoy defense because being successful in that sets up the offense. — Jake Provost

This year Provost is expecting a bigger role as a leader and also his contribution towards the team. After being promoted to varsity from JV, he believes the intensity will jump to a new level.

“This will be my first year on varsity,” Provost continued. “Last year I was on JV since it was my first year of playing basketball. Being on JV I learned all of the basics of the game and this year I will be trying to improve upon those skills. I think the coaches are going to push me harder and the expectations will be much higher.

“This will be my last year of playing high school basketball and my favorite memory from last year was when Michael Huang made the buzzer beater against Parlier High School,” Provost continued. “All of us came off the bench and jumped onto the court to celebrate with him and it was such a cool experience to be part of that.”

Head basketball coach Jonathan Penberthy holds Provost in a large leadership role as one of the few seniors on the team.

“What stands out the most about Jake is his work ethics, how willing to be coached and how good of a teammate he is,” Penberthy said. “Jake plays a big role on our basketball team as being one of the few seniors and one of the few who has played a couple of years in our program. There is an expectation for him to be a good leader.”

Besides competing on the basketball team, Provost is also in student leadership. He joined because he desired to voice his opinions and wanted to become more involved with the schools’ events and activities. Leadership advisor Aubri Foster sees his leadership skills within the class.

“Jacob is a strong and capable leader,” Foster said. “He often silently leads his class in the right direction without them even knowing he is helping them. He is always the first to volunteer to serve. Jake is one of the most selfless members of our team.”

Provost also enjoys hanging out with friends on the weekends and watching college football. Notre Dame is his favorite team to watch.

“When I’m not playing basketball I like to play sports with friends on the weekend,” Provost said. “I also love to watch college football, especially Notre Dame because my grandpa went there. I prefer college over professional because college football seems like there’s more heart than professional and the outcome of the score is more unpredictable; a huge underdog can still win.”

The boy’s basketball team’s next game is home against WCPA at 7 p.m., Dec. 12. Come out and support Provost and the team.

For more profiles, check out Profile: Jenna Bynum looks to pursue soccer after high school. For more articles, read Fresno native Villyan Bijev thrives in USL.

This author can be reached via twitter @johnmonke and via email: John Monke.