One year after shouldering the onus of kick starter for Rosyln HS on Long Island-triggering the uptempo attack, calling his own number and scoring during crucial junctures, and feeding since graduated 6-foot-7 John Davey in the post–Roslyn HS guard Spyro Drenis is now entrenched in the Mr. Everything role.
At 5-foot-10 and possessing seemingly unlimited 3-point range, Drenis is arguably in the conversation of the Top-10 most prolific scoring threats across Long Island. The pressure of having to be more and more selfish, for the first time during his four year stay at Roslyn, doesn’t seem to faze him.
The veteran combo guard has had multiple 20+ point games on 50+ percent shooting from the field and beyond the arc. You’ll rarely see him force the issue, launch an errant shot, or look rattled when the pressure heightens.
Even amid the tumultuous setbacks of Covid, as gyms were shut down and the innovative and unrequired labor was the lone method of keeping afloat on an island rife with gritty guards, Drenis invested in the workload.
Now, he’s evolved into the face of a Rosyln core. This group may not possess the type of sky rising athleticism and length as more established Island foes, albeit will always enforce a high disciplined style.
They know no other way.
This discipline entails kicking in the extra pass. This discipline entails consistently being coachable and accountable and never drifting away from the bedrock principles of the system.
With his niche as a score first foundational piece who has been through his fair share of battles, Drenis is cognizant he’s inherited some ownership of this team.
Drenis went eyeball to eyeball against Ryan Weiss of Hewlett, scoring a team-best 26 points against the highly touted Division 1 prospect.
The undersized guard is forced to get his shot off amid amplified pressure, knowing teams are applying junk defenses and gunning to neutralize him. He’s an adept shot maker in transition and has become more reliable creating opportunity off the bounce.
As a high academic student-athlete (Drenis wrapped up the semester as high honor roll student at Roslyn), Drenis knows basketball is not ultimately the be all and end all for him.
First and foremost since the start, education will ultimately propel him to where he winds up in life.
He surely won’t get duped into a ball or bust mentality when choosing his next destination, unlike many of today’s misguided youth. Sadly, in today’s world, several promising student athletes circumvent their would be NCAA freshman year and wind up at an unstable, fly by night prep school with minimal exposure events and spotty academic setups and a “facility” that is borrowed from another school or YMCA even.
While his future plans remain to be witnessed (with his academic pedigree of course paving the best path), Drenis continues to leave a mark you just don’t see a 5-foot-10 guard leave very often. Not at this level.
It’s the final chapter for Drenis, a senior year once again heavily impacted by Covid and the agonizing limitations.
It’s his time to etch a legacy through all the dismal uncertainty Covid and rapidly changing schedules have elicited.
And, make no mistake about it, it’s fun watching this kid work.
