Certain individuals walk into a room with a distinct "aura" of class and humility. Jamal Boykin has more positive qualities than any player/ person I know from the class of 2005. This 6'7" 225 lb junior is as "tough as nails" on the court, and an incredibly giving individual off of it.

Jamal has all the offensive skills necessary to carry his Fairfax HS team to his 1st L.A. City Section Championship this season. In addition to that goal Jamal is looking to be recruited more by WCC, Pac-10, and ACC (especially Duke) school this year. Honestly, Jamal rates very high in many top evaluators’ opinions. He is ranked #12 best player in his class of 2005 by Sporting News Magazine. Recently, he accompanied his AAU coach, Dinos Trigonis to the Gym Rats Midnight Madness in New Jersey and increased his stock with a very strong performance. All these on court accomplishments in addition to his very strong B+ academic school GPA have led Jamal to be a very valuable college prospect. Programs such as UCLA, USC, Oregon, and especially Pepperdine have met with and recruited Jamal recently at his school 6th period.

Jamal is special. He shares the classy demeanor and raw determination of the person he is named after: Jamaal Wilkes. Being from Wilkes' hometown of Ventura myself I've heard so many great personal stories of this basketball legend. I truly believe that Jamal Boykin will share in great stories being passed around about him after he has had a wonderful college career. Boykin enjoys many things besides the game of basketball. He is active in school drama, he is artistic with his clay sculptures, and he is an avid computer graphics "wiz" to boot.

Mentor of others is a "tag" one could put on Jamal as seen by his helping to develop a young sophomore by the name of Gilroy Hensby. Gilroy gets weight lifting tips and a "thorough" workout every time he squares off to practice against his older teammate Jamal.

Lastly, it should be known that Jamal is a "deacon" at his local church and leader spiritually to others. Strong family support has helped Jamal Boykin become a "real man in the making" and he wanted all that read this article to recognize his family’s influence on making him what he is today: a real mentor and humble servant of God.