Building A Legacy

When they were in just the sixth grade, DeShawn Harris-Smith, Jamie Kaiser, and Jahnathan Lamothe faced off in a Putnam Youth Basketball League (PYBL) championship game. Lamothe was on one side, Harris-Smith and Kaiser on another. And all three have different things that stick out about that game.

Kaiser barely remembers facing Lamothe. Lamothe recalls winning that game and securing the championship. As for Harris-Smith?

“I had 30 (points).”

Nearly seven years later, the talented trio, who all have DMV ties, has been reunited at Maryland, where they highlight a highly-heralded freshman class. In some ways, it’s a surprise to the guys that they all ended up as Terrapins together. In other ways, however, it’s no surprise — they all have known each other were destined for big things ever since middle school. 

“It was always competitive,” Lamothe said of those middle school days. “We were all on top teams and we all really wanted to win everything. It was always a battle.”

The three remained connected even after their years on the PYBL circuit ended as Lamothe and Kaiser played together on Team Durant in 9th and 10th grade, where they were the top-ranked team in the country. All three also remained in communication, taking the time occasionally to check in on each other. 

“We always battled each other on the court and then would talk on social media off it,” Lamothe said. 

When it came time to make college decisions, the three’s connection paid off in dividends. 

Lamothe, a Baltimore native who starred at St. Frances Academy, was the first of the three to commit to Maryland and head coach Kevin Willard in June of 2022. Once his commitment was final, he quickly turned his attention to getting Kaiser and Harris-Smith to join him. 

“I just told them, ‘I feel like we can all play together, we can all start together, and we can lead each other to championships.’”

Just over a couple of months later, Kaiser, who grew up in Burke, VA, made his commitment decision. But the four-star wing’s work didn’t stop there.

“As soon as I committed, it turned to DeShawn being the number one priority,” Kaiser recalled. “Every team needs a guy like him that plays as hard as he does.”

Lamothe and Kaiser joined forces, making a strong push to Harris-Smith, the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Player of the Year at Paul VI Catholic. 

“Those two guys just kept saying, ‘There’s no better place to do it than at home.’ We were texting every single day pretty much,” Harris-Smith said. “They were definitely trying hard to get me to come.”

Their selling points worked, as a short few weeks later, Harris-Smith announced his intention to be a Terp as well. 

For all three of the guys, the ability to play close to home resonated deeply in their recruiting process. 

“It’s going to mean a lot to see my friends and family in the home crowd every game,” Harris-Smith said. “You’ll always feel the love and the support even when you’re not playing your best game and that’s important to me.”

“You’re gonna see so many familiar faces in the crowd, you’re not going to want to let anyone down,” he added. “And then when you hit a few shots, you can look up and see the people that’ve been with you your whole life.”

Kaiser and Lamothe specifically grew up Maryland fans and getting the opportunity to wear the Maryland colors is a full-circle moment for both of them. 

“It’s a dream come true to be here,” Kaiser said. “I still feel like I’m in the mindset of being a little kid who wanted to play at Maryland so bad.”

“It’s going to be crazy to play in front of all these fans because I’ve been a fan myself since I was really young,” Lamothe added. “I went to games here all the time and did all the Midnight Madness stuff.”

Since they’ve been in College Park, the trio has assimilated to the program quickly and admirably. Their prior DMV connections have made it easy for them to form chemistry on and off the court.

“We do a lot together,” Kaiser said. “We compete against each other hard in practice, we work out together, and then we hang out off the court too. It’s a great relationship because we all have similar goals and aspirations.”

On the court, the freshman class made quick impressions on Willard, with him publicly calling them “the best freshmen class he’s ever had” at Big Ten Media Day. 

And that praise isn’t something the trio takes lightly. 

“It means a lot to hear because he’s coached a lot of good dudes,” Lamothe said. “I think it’s just because of how competitive we are and how we can go at it, but also mesh well with everyone else.”

“The thing that makes us special is we’re all from here and we’re all really talented,” Kaiser added. 

Harris-Smith credits the region the trio grew up playing in as to what gives them an extra edge over their competition. 

“It’s just DMV basketball,” Harris-Smith said. “I feel like we all grew up playing with a chip on our shoulder. We were all instilled that killer mentality at a young age and we all brought it here.”

In addition to impressing Coach Willard and their peers, the three freshmen have also impressed each other.

“DeShawn’s a big, physical guard who brings that dawg every single day,” Kaiser said of his teammate. “He plays harder than anyone I know.”

“Jamie can shoot from anywhere,” Lamothe said. “And he has a lot of confidence about it. If he misses one, you know he’s going to make the next one.” 

“Jahn’s a shooter, but he doesn’t know how strong he is sometimes,” Harris-Smith said. “When he gets downhill with his strength and speed it’s tough to stop. And he’s a great teammate too.”

The three have come to Maryland to win at a high level and make it to the next level. However, they have even broader goals beyond that—they’re thinking about the future of the program. 

The three want to leave a lasting mark and blaze a trail for future DMV kids to lead Maryland men’s basketball.

“We want to try to build a legacy here where we can get other DMV kids to come after us,” Harris-Smith said. “We want to build this place into a DMV powerhouse for years to come…That would be something really cool to do; I don’t see why it can’t be done.”