St. Frances (MD) kicked off its 2022-23 season with a five-point win against Shabach Christian Academy eight days ago as three-star guard Jahnathan Lamothe the Panthers return to action again on December 3 when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Imhotep. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard flashed his three-point shooting and helped lead a young Panthers squad to a win.
“Being a combo, I have to work on everything because some games I’ll be on the ball, some games I’ll be off the ball so I just work on everything. Shooting, ball handling, defending and just finding ways to win. That’s what I’ve been working on. With a young teams, we’ll definitely find ways to win.” The inside-out scoring ability is a reason why Maryland and head coach Kevin Willard initially pursued the Baltimore athlete and earlier this month, Lamothe was finally able to put his five-month verbal to rest after becoming the first to sign his letter of intent. Lamothe joins four-stars Jamie Kaiser and Deshawn Harris-Smith to give Willard a consensus top-20 class and secure the future backcourt.
“It’s a blessing. I’m glad all my hard work has been paying off. I can’t wait to start this next year and I love it here so I can’t wait to be on the court.” After hearing and then buying into Willard’s vision, the start of the 2022-23 season has given Lamothe a chance to watch the style and get a closer grasp of Willard’s approach. “I watched the game against Binghamton, Niagara. I like the system and I think they’ll do good this season.”
Maryland continued its hot streak through the weekend after defeating Saint Louis and Miami (FL) to win the Hall of Fame Tipoff Championship as Lamothe breaks down what he’s been impressed with early on.
“I like the fast-paced offense. He told me when he got the job he was going to change the culture, he’s going to change the play style and I see it. They do way more screen and rolls, that’s how Juju is getting off. I think with the good guards we have coming in, we’ll fit in well with the system.”
With three commits in the fold, all eyes are on frontcourt recruiting which normally leads to a discussion surrounding top-50 prospect Derik Queen. While the Montverde Academy star has since said he’ll stick in the 2024 class, Lamothe has given Maryland’s top target plenty of information on the program.
“We’re still searching, we’re trying to get Derik Queen. I’m not sure about any 2023 bigs but we talk a lot. We already talk daily so nothing changes. I just tell him the inside scoop but I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, let him enjoy the process.”
Lamothe is rated a three-star prospect and an 85 overall by On3.
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