Round Lake sophomore Jaquan Jamerson appears to be an exception to the rule.
Unlike most players making the early leap to varsity basketball, the 5-foot-9 guard hasn’t let that inexperience stand in his way. In fact, Jamerson has not only established himself as the Panthers’ top player, but he’s also undaunted by what he’s accomplishing.
“Confidence plays a big role, and I’ve got a lot of confidence,” he said. “The work I did in the offseason made me ready. I’ve been waiting to prove my talents.”
The wait is definitely over. It took only a few possessions in Round Lake’s season opener for people in the program to realize what Jamerson could do. He finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a head-turning seven steals in the Panthers’ loss to Harvard.
Jamerson hasn’t slowed down yet. He scored 27 points in Round Lake’s 66-47 Northern Lake County Conference loss to Lakes on Saturday.
Entering this week, Jamerson led the Panthers (0-7) in all major statistical categories, averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
“He’s embraced the role of being the guy even though he’s only a sophomore,” Round Lake coach Jack Hansa said. “Overall, he’s a really confident person, but he’s humble too.”
Hansa witnessed that confidence firsthand before he saw Jamerson dribble a basketball. Jamerson was a first-week freshman in Hansa’s social studies class in August 2023 when Hansa asked for volunteers to answer a prompt. Jamerson’s hand shot into the air first.
“That was the first time I saw him, and he did it entirely on his own,” Hansa said.
Hansa also liked what he saw once basketball workouts began. Jamerson was far enough along to get a small taste of the varsity level last year, but he was largely confined to the freshman team, which he helped win 15 games.
Jamerson played on the travel basketball circuit with Full Package for the first time after the season, and his skill set continued to develop. His experience against top-flight players and daily workouts on his own put him in prime position to make an impact as a sophomore.
“I feel like this year I’ve been thrown into the deep end, so I have no choice but to learn,” Jamerson said. “But I’d rather be going against better players. If you’re not pushing me, I’m not learning.”
Indeed, Jamerson embraces the idea that there’s still plenty for him to learn and improve.
“I’ve had to learn to adjust to the referees,” he said. “In the first game, I got called on three charges in a row. After the game, I wanted to figure out what I did wrong and make the adjustment at the rim.”
The rim is the left-handed Jamerson’s favorite place on the court. He is adept at driving through the paint and finishing near the basket, and if a field goal isn’t the result, then a trip to the free-throw line is likely.
“That’s my bread and butter,” Jamerson said. “It’s hard to defend me when I go straight to the basket. I use my eyes to make my defender think I’m going the other way, and I also think I have a pretty quick first step.”
Jamerson has been quick to react in another important area — embracing a leadership role on the team despite being its youngest player.
A perfect example was illustrated in the game against Lakes when senior guard Julian Jones was assessed a technical foul. Before anyone from the bench could get to Jones, Jamerson was in his ear.
“I pulled him to the side and told him he was better than that and that he’s too important to the team to be acting that way,” Jamerson said. “I’ve created good relationships with my teammates off the court, so I can hold them accountable.”
Jones said he appreciated Jamerson’s words in that situation.
“It calmed me down and got me back in the right frame of mind,” Jones said. “The thing I like most about him is that he challenges us all to be better. He wants it more than anyone. We call him the ‘chosen one’ because he’s going to be the one who makes Round Lake better than we are now.”
That’s a lot to put onto Jamerson’s shoulders, but he looks at it as an opportunity, not a burden.
“Losing is part of the process,” he said. “It just takes time. We don’t want to be a team that gets one win and we’re happy. You have to have a short-term memory, and I’m positive about the future.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
