Roseville basketball’s district title dreams fueled by brotherhood

ROSEVILLE — It takes only one game to see that the Roseville High School boys basketball program is the complete package on the court.

Donning the nickname “Pressville,” the Panthers’ pride themselves on their physical defense and their ability to make opposing offenses uncomfortable.

In Roseville’s mind, great defense turns into better offense, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better offensive player in the Macomb Area Conference than McDonald’s All-American nominee and senior guard Jalen Mosley.

But above all the numerical averages of steals, rebounds, blocks and points, it’s the unselfish team mentality the Panthers carry that continues to drive the team’s chase for the top spot in the MAC Red.

“I’m more focused on winning,” junior guard Todario Payne said. “I don’t care about the points. Anything I can do to help my team win, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Every Panthers player plays for each other. From the last guy on the bench to the leading scorer, from freshman to varsity, the environment that head coach Gregory Boler has created represents not just Roseville basketball, but Roseville athletics and the school as a whole.

The players see it, they embody it, and more importantly, they’re passing it down to the younger generation.

“I’ve never seen a senior group interact the way they do with the freshman and the JV team,” Boler said. “It’s really one big program the way a coach would dream for it to be. They all laugh and joke together. It’s definitely different around here. It’s getting to where we wanted it to be, and I didn’t think it would be this fast, but these guys are making it so much easier.”

“We really love each other,” Payne said. “These are really my brothers. I look at every one of these guys as my brothers. We’re all together at the end of the day. We’re all we got.”

Behind their unbreakable bond, Roseville has been impressive this season to the tune of a 10-6 record, including its current 9-2 stretch, and will finish second in the MAC Red standings behind defending league champion Grosse Pointe South this season.

Sometimes there’s a team that just seems like they have your number, and South was the one Roseville failed to figure out last season, going 0-3 to the Blue Devils including a 49-45 district semifinals loss. South swept Roseville this season, but there’s a chance both schools could see each other in the MAC Red/White Tournament as Roseville advanced in the tournament with a 63-57 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North. The Panthers are slated to face Warren Lincoln in the second round on Feb. 13.

Roseville played South down to the wire in the 2023 district semifinals loss without two of its top seniors in Amare Snowden and Brian Hunter, but also sidelined was a junior standout eager to get a shot at South again — Mosley.

Having to watch from the bench as his team scratched and clawed its way to a gut-wrenching loss, Mosley said he had only one thought in his mind through the entirety of the matchup.

“The whole game I was thinking, ‘I can’t wait until next year,’” Mosley said. “I knew we were going to see them again, so it’s really like us versus them in the MAC Red. I’m just waiting to get back at them.”

Starting off the season 1-4, including a 9-point loss to South, it was evident to Boler that his team wasn’t playing its style of basketball.

A more selfish side of the team showed itself early, and Roseville senior forward Anthony Scott Jr. said the team recognized it.

Scott is more of the vocal, in-your-face leader while Mosley tends to lead by example, so when Scott relays a message to the team, the guys listen.

“I told the guys that we should all buy in,” Scott said. “If we buy into the program and we all play good and hustle, nobody can stop us and we’re an unstoppable force. That’s what we did.”

Scott’s play also speaks for itself, and he’s been filling up the stat sheet this season. Along with Scott and Mosley, Payne and his younger brother, sophomore guard Jadarius Payne, junior Brian Jenkins, sophomore Ryan Davis, senior Herman Wrenn, junior Tim Dawson, and junior Kyle Reeves have been consistent contributors for the Panthers this season.

Jenkins, a Hamtramck High School transfer, has come into his own this season on the offensive end.

Jenkins never had the opportunity to show his full potential his first two seasons with Hamtramck, but now he’s become an immediate impact player for the Panthers night in and night out.

“I feel like I got way more aggressive and way more confident as opposed to my sophomore season,” Jenkins said. “I didn’t play, but over the summer I could tell my confidence was growing, especially with a coach that puts his trust in me.”

The Payne brothers are a focal point of the Roseville defensive unit as Jadarius Payne currently leads the team in deflections, which tends to jump-start transition opportunities for the Panthers offense.

Both players are dynamic scorers in their own right, and Boler said Todario has taken a significant step forward with his jump shot.

“Guys left Todario open last year, and he took that very personally,” Boler said. “He’s shooting the ball really, really well. Nobody will leave him open this year, I promise.”

With contributions across the board and a connection unlike any other, Roseville is hoping to carry some momentum into the state tournament with a strong showing at the MAC Red/White tournament 

Roseville, ranked No. 71 in The D Zone’s Top 100, will be a force to be reckoned with in the Division 1 state tournament.

“A lot of people doubted and said we’re nothing yet,” Scott said. “We like that and we tend to prove them wrong and make them pay for what they said.”