On Tuesday, Jan. 20, two days before the Enterprise boys basketball team was set to host Chico, senior guard Ja’Kye Rawls led the Hornets (17-2) with 25 points in a thrilling 65-62 win over Foothill.
It was a crucial win for Enterprise. The Hornets suffered their second loss of the season to Pleasant Valley the week before, and a win over Foothill was necessary to keep Enterprise near the top of the Eastern Athletic League standings.
The Hornets needed all 25 of Rawls’ points to earn the win, but for Rawls, those 25 points pushed him closer to a coveted career milestone — a milestone that many hope to achieve, but few get the opportunity to reach: 1,000 career points.
So, heading into Enterprise’s fifth league battle of the season against the Chico Panthers (11-10) on Thursday, Jan. 22, all Rawls needed to do was score three points to reach 1,000 for his career.
With a packed Manatowa Gym to support him, Rawls went to work.
It wasn’t an electrifying slam dunk or a logo three, but Rawls did what he does best. On a routine fastbreak in the first quarter, Rawls received the ball and took it to the hoop for a layup. That layup, his second bucket of the night, gave Rawls his 1,000th and 1,001st career points.
“It means a lot; it’s such a big accomplishment for my career,” Rawls said. “Not everyone gets to do it, so just knowing that I’ve been able to accomplish that, it means so much to me, (especially) with how much I’ve put into basketball.”
The crowd cheered a little louder on that basket, and Rawls’ loved ones proudly displayed homemade signs in celebration of his accomplishment, but the senior couldn’t stop to soak it in. He still had a game to finish.
Four quarters went by, and while the Panthers kept it close — even cutting a 15-point lead to just one by the end of the third quarter —, Rawls and the Hornets escaped with a pivotal 75-60 victory over a tough EAL opponent in Chico.
Rawls finished with 20 points, and most importantly, the Hornets got the win.
“It wouldn’t have hit the same if I had got that accomplishment and we didn’t get the win,” Rawls said. “Our guys came out and played strong; I’m just glad we were able to get the win.”
From the moment Rawls joined the varsity squad as a sophomore for the 2023-24 season, Enterprise head coach Abie Ramirez knew there was something different about him.
“When he first came to the program, I just knew he was going to be special from day one, just because of his leadership not only on the court but off the court,” Ramirez said. “The kid just puts in work.”
Rawls credits his ability to reach this accomplishment to the amount of time he’s spent training, and it’s moments like reaching 1,000 points that make it all worth it.
“I worked hard throughout my whole career,” Rawls said. “Waking up early in the morning before school, getting work in, after school getting work in, all the extra stuff. That’s all it is, just hard work.”
As his coach, Ramirez has witnessed the amount of time Rawls puts into improving his craft. Ramirez noted that during the offseason, Rawls will work out two or three times a day.
“He grinds all the time just trying to get better in every area of his game,” Ramirez said. “To be able to coach a kid like that, especially his senior year and with the team that we have, is a blessing; he’s just a great leader.”
The work done behind the scenes becomes more evident in big moments, but Rawls shows that improvement every time he steps on the court. He earned third-team all-section honors as a junior last season, and he’s only continued to expand his bag.
Rawls is much more than just a three-level scorer. With Enterprise adding an elite scoring guard in Julian Turner this season, Rawls was forced into his natural role as a point guard.
His willingness to embrace that role has earned Rawls the admiration and trust of his teammates, and it’s certainly contributed to Enterprise’s success this season.
“To find a kid like that with that kind of grit, that kind of hustle and that kind of pride, they don’t come around very often, so it’s been a blessing to be able to coach him,” Ramirez said. “All the kids respect him.”
Standing at just 5-foot-10, Rawls has learned to use his elite speed to create separation both on and off the ball. That quickness lets him find holes in the defense to either drive to the hoop or pull up in the midrange.
But perhaps the most important aspect of his game is his defense. Before each game, Rawls will ask Ramirez who the best player on the opposing team is.
“I’ll tell him, and he goes, ‘I got him. I’m going to lock him up,’” Ramirez said. “Then he goes and scores 20 points but also locks up the best player every game.”
Rawls makes it his mission to consistently shut down opposing offenses.
“He just doesn’t want to be known as an offensive player. Sometimes he’ll score eight points, but then he locks up the guy, and that’s the difference in the game,” Ramirez said. “Kye will be the first to tell you, ‘Whatever I gotta do for the team to win, that’s what I’m going to do,’ and that’s his MO.”
Rawls did just that when Chico came to town on Thursday night.
From his 20 points to his lockdown defense, Rawls did everything he could to help his Hornets win the game, and he achieved a career milestone along the way.
The fans had to wait over three quarters, but as the clock trickled down to triple zeros and the Enterprise win was secured, they didn’t waste any time.
Within seconds of the final buzzer, a mob of overjoyed Hornets rushed the court in pursuit of Ja’Kye Rawls — the man of the night.
“It means so much; all the support that helped me get through it all, all my hard work,” Rawls said. “To see all that in that moment, it felt great.”
(This article has been updated to include video highlights from Thursday night’s game)
Brett Abrams is a sports reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. He covers high school and local sports in the Redding area. Reach out to Brett with any sports tips or news on X (formerly Twitter) @brabrams_ or by email at Brett.Abrams@Redding.com. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Enterprise’s Ja’Kye Rawls scores 1,000th career point in win over Chico
Reporting by Brett Abrams, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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