Boys’ basketball: Jemarl Baker will make it through four years at Eastvale Roosevelt

Classes have begun at Eastvale Roosevelt, and standout senior guard Jemarl Baker is there. He won’t be one of the nearly 16,000 athletes who transferred during the 2015-16 school year in California.

He came close.

During the summer, he did check out of Roosevelt. He did apply to Santa Ana Mater Dei. But in the end, he and his parents decided to stick it out for a fourth year at the same high school, which these days is a rarity for a standout player.

His community will appreciate him even more.

“Jemarl never really wanted to leave,” Coach Stephen Singleton said. “He loved it here.”

As usual in basketball, there’s other influences involved. But it all worked out. He has his college scholarship to California, he’s going to play on a good high school team and he gets to say he’s been loyal to his community.

“He’s setting a legacy that will last a long time,” Singleton said.

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