Senior Jake Eskin may not be alumni Chase Hicks or Elijah Gore, but neither is he trying to be. Whereas Hicks and Gore dominated in the post and made flashy plays using their superior athleticism, Eskin has let his fundamental basketball and phenomenal shooting ability quietly make him one of the county’s elite players.

“I have worked extremely hard in the offseason on my game and skills, but I believe that attacking the basket is the strongest part of my game,” Eskin said. “It allows me to get to the hoop, take open jumpers and dish to my teammates.”

This season, Eskin has done it all, leading the team in scoring with 17 points per game thanks to everything from three-point shots, drives to the hoop, drawing fouls and even the mid-range game. But perhaps the most important aspects of his game are his ability to distribute the ball and the leadership ability he exhibits on the floor.

On a team with five sophomores and just two seniors, Eskin has gotten everyone involved. His ability to maintain the team’s composure has aided contributions from unexpected sources.
“When Jake is seeing the entire floor and because he is drawing a lot of attention from opposing teams, he really opens the floor up for some of our guys,” coach Matthew Miller said. “The other thing he does is keep [his teammates] focused on what we need to do next. Sometimes we need that voice on the court that gets the team re-focused when things are not going well.”
Eskin fell into Miller’s lap this offseason when he transferred from Northwest. It was unknown how the team would respond to the transfer, but after the success with Gore’s transfer a season ago, they didn’t have much to worry about.

“We have been very fortunate to have Elijah and Jake the last two years, who not only were impact players, but fit right in with all of the other guys,” Miller said. “Every guy on this team feels like Jake has been here all along and that’s a tremendous compliment to both Jake and the rest of the guys for allowing the transition to be rather seamless.”

Just as Gore turned CHS from a very good team to one of the most dangerous teams in the county a year ago, Eskin has turned a Bulldog team that was thought to be a potential doormat this season into a potential playoff threat that no one will want to face.

 “He always keeps you focused and the whole team on the same page,” senior Michael Ely said. “Without him, we wouldn’t be successful at all.”