Jaylohn Allen scanned his eyes around a mostly empty Wayne Memorial gym and let out a quick laugh when asked how much time he had spent on that court.
“It’s been a lot,” Allen said after a 68-30 win over Westland Glenn in Michigan high school boys basketball action on Friday, Feb. 6.
Those long days in Wayne’s gym began in eighth grade. Allen would spend long days inside the Zebras’ Alumni Arena, launching shots from every distance from halfcourt to layups.
That was just the beginning of Allen spending “hundreds of thousands” of hours working on his craft, according to coach Steve Books, to develop into a four-year star for Wayne.
“He’s always been in there, man,” Brooks said after picking up his 400th career win in a career with stops at Inkster, Ypsilanti and Wayne. “Every day, I know he’s in there. As a matter of fact, he’s in there so much that a lot of times I tell him to take a break.”
That work has led to results, with Allen closing in on finishing as one of the school’s all-time greats.
Allen, a Toledo basketball commit, is less than 100 points away from the school’s all-time scoring record, held by former Michigan State football and basketball player Lorenzo Guess.
The four-year starter was a key part of Wayne’s run to the school’s first Division 1 state championship game in 2025 – a loss to East Lansing. Allen provides a potent blend of scoring and playmaking as a point guard, averaging 20 points per game across his high school career.
As a senior, Allen is averaging 23 points, six assists and three steals per game. More importantly, he is cherishing his last moments on a high school floor with his teammates.
“This is my last year playing with my friends,” Allen said. “Being able to have fun – that is the motivation. I can’t take anything for granted. I already missed two games this year. I’ve got to go get it or else I’m not going to be anything. I’ve played like I didn’t have offers or I wasn’t committed. I’ve worked hard and that’s got me to where I am now.”
Allen missed the first two games of his career this winter, after being an ironman his first three seasons, with a knee injury in the first two weeks of the season, and another due to illness.
After getting cleared, Allen has returned with supreme confidence. That self-belief has been a driving force for Wayne (14-2), which enters Tuesday’s matchup at Belleville on a six-game winning streak.
“Everybody believes in me, so why not believe in myself?” Allen said. “I go to the gym when I can, go to the weight room when I can. Why not be confident? I put in all the work to do what I need to do.”
His success throughout his senior season and across the last four years has Allen in the conversation to be one of the five finalists for the 2026 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award, given to the top senior in the state. His brother, Corey Allen, was a Mr. Basketball finalist in 2016 under Brooks at Ypsilanti.
But the true driving factor is the memory of being subbed off in the loss to East Lansing. Allen watched the final seconds tick off with tears in his eyes, determined to finish as a winner.
“I always wanted to get back,” Allen said. “Once we left the locker room, walking to the bus and everybody was happy we got to the game. But I’m still mad we lost. I think we are geared to go back and win it this year. I’m very motivated.”
A new duo
In last year’s run, Allen shared the backcourt with Carlos Medlock Jr., a Michigan State basketball, who transferred from Wayne to Link Academy in Missouri for his senior season.
Allen has remained in a lead role, just like last season, but with a new primary running mate.
That would be 6-foot-7 senior forward Cyrus Goins. The transfer from Flat Rock has done it all for Wayne on both ends of the court. Goins is averaging 15 points and eight rebounds per game.
Goins has had to adapt to a new role thanks to shooting straight up. Last year, Goins played as a 5-foot-11 guard before growing eight inches between his junior and senior seasons. That growth spurt has come with a learning curve, but gives Wayne a forward who has been training as a guard for most of his life.
“When you go from a 5-11 guard to a 6-7 stretch forward, it is a way different position,” Goins said. “Coach Brooks, over the summer and throughout the whole season, has helped me develop into my body and adapt to my new body.”
Like Allen, Goins has lived in the gym. He practices on his own in the morning and at night, on top of the team’s normal practices. It has gotten to a point where the coaches have told him at times to give his growing body a rest.
But that work has resulted in a forward who can score inside and from deep while defending at all three levels.
“He’s had a tremendous work ethic since he’s gotten here,” Brooks said. “We pride ourselves on taking away all excuses for our kids. Somebody on our staff is in the gym year-round so you have no reason not to come and get better.”
Goins has made life easier for Allen, who has a big target at the rim for passes. In the first game against Livonia Franklin, Allen had 16 assists, with most coming by feeding Goins in the paint.
“He’s great for us and I’m grateful for him,” Allen said of Goins. “It makes it easier for me. They have to stop his 3, have to stop him crashing, have to stop his touch around the rim.”
The shared time in the gym has created a friendship between Wayne’s new duo, which has the Zebras in contention for another playoff run.
“We started when I first got here, always working out together,” Goins said. “We were building the duo, building the chemistry right away.”
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Wayne Memorial hits it big with new duo of Cyrus Goins, Jaylohn Allen
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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