Prospect Spotlight: JaJuante Carpenter (2017)
Although his high school career has come to an end, JaJuante Carpenter had quite the senior season for Lafayette High School.
Appearing in all 31 games, Carpenter led the Generals with 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He and Lafayette won in the opening round of the 43rd District Tournament, but fell short to Lexington Catholic, 58-56, in the semifinals.
“My goal for this year was to lead my team to Rupp Arena, but we fell short,” Carpenter said. “I played well and the players on the team played great. We played a lot as a team.”
His time as a prep player may be over, but Carpenter says he enjoyed every second of it.
“I’ve enjoyed my four years wearing a Lafayette jersey,” he stated. “I played with an amazing group of people each year and it just built a bond between all of us to stick together with each other. We always played every game like it was our last. We always had an amazing student section that came out to support us – the atmosphere was always great. I learned how to be a leader for my team and I became a better player to help my team.
“Being a captain of the team took a lot out of me because everyone looked up to me, but that’s why I was chose to be a captain, to help the younger ones become more physical and stronger and push them harder everyday.”
Despite not holding any current college offers or interest yet, Carpenter says that coaches need to watch film on him from the past season – and his whole career – and realize what type of player he is and what he brings to the table.
“My game should catch college coaches’ eyes because I am a hard worker on and off the court and a very humble athlete,” Carpenter noted.
After he receives his diploma from Lafayette, he hopes to be able to fulfill his dream of playing college ball.
“My plans for after graduation are to attend college and hopefully I can further my basketball career,” Carpenter added. “I love the game of basketball and I never want to stop playing it.”