St. Frances saw their lead dwindle in the closing minutes on Saturday before 2024 forward Derik Queen nailed one of two free throws to give the Panthers a one-point victory. Four-star combo guard Jahnathan Lamothe committed a pair of critical turnovers in the closing minutes as National Christian came storming back, but still finished in double figures and helped St. Frances assemble a pair of stops on the defensive ends down the stretch.
“I kept my teammates involved and made the plays when they needed to. I could’ve cut back on the turnovers, that’s on me but we did what we needed to get the dub,” Lamothe told Inside the Black and Gold. St. Frances utilized a pair of timeouts in the final three minutes to reset the offense as Lamothe got his team involved to find open jump shots. “It was a big focus. If we went one-on-one we probably would’ve got down but we stayed together, kept our composure and just pulled it out. Keeping our composure was a big part of it.”
With coaches from Maryland, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Miami, and Villanova all along the sidelines, it wasn’t the performance that Lamothe was hoping to put forward but he pointed to Sunday’s matchup against DeMatha as an opportunity to bounce back. “Just being more of a leader. At the end of the day I need to make the plays and not the wrong passes, that’s on me and I could’ve shot better but for the most part, I did okay.”
Though Lamothe is being recruited as a combo guard at the next level thanks to his consistent shooting touch, Saturday’s showing reinforced his belief that he’s capable of playing the point in college. “I feel comfortable. I can do things better, handle the ball and watch my turnovers. I can make plays for myself and my teammates, making the right play is my focus now.”
That’s an area that sticks out to Maryland as Lamothe was offered back on June 15, the first day that college coaches could directly contact 2023 prospects. Lamothe took in an unofficial visit to Maryland last Monday with Evans and four-star forward Shawn Simmons as the 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard recapped the visit.
“I talked to coach Turge, all the coaches. They got to show me around a good bit. Maryland wanted to use me as a shooter and a guy they can plug in on the offensive end. They want to see me more with the ball in my hand, how they see me fitting in as an all-around player. I can fit in there at the one or two so now it’s just learning about how they play.”
Lamothe has one more visit set this month with an upcoming trip to Ohio State set for June 29th.
Lamothe is rated a four-star prospect and a 92 overall by 247Sports, sitting as the second-best prospect in Maryland in the 2023 class.