Jahleel Joseph’s coach at Central Aroostook High School is not going to miss getting dunked on during practice.
But Panthers coach Griffin Guerrette is going to miss Joseph’s contributions on and off the court as he takes his game and studies out of state.
Joseph, who in just his sophomore season was named one of the best players in Class D North last year as a member of the Bangor Daily News’ All-Tournament Team, will be suiting up this coming season for a private school in Maryland, West Nottingham Academy.
The Maryland school announced Joseph’s move on Instagram late last week.
“Welcome to the Family!” West Nottingham’s basketball team and athletic department said in the post. “Jahleel Joseph is officially a West Nottingham Ram!”
The post also noted that the 6-foot-4 Joseph will be in the class of 2028, meaning he will once again be a sophomore this coming year as he makes the transition to a new school and team.
Guerrette, his former coach at Central Aroostook in Mars Hill, said that Joseph was young enough to be a freshman this past year. That youth didn’t stop Joseph from putting up big numbers for the Panthers, averaging around 25 points and 12 rebounds per game.
“His basketball instincts, you can just tell, he’s off the charts,” Guerrette said about Joseph, who the Central Aroostook coach noted is still young and developing. “His instincts and his quick thinking is just what sets him apart from other kids.”
Those instincts helped Joseph notch a season high of 52 points in one game last season, according to Guerrette. The Panthers coach is going to miss that on-court production as Joseph takes his talents to Maryland, but even more than that, he’s going to miss the person who put up those numbers.
“Basketball stuff aside, he’s just one of the best kids I’ve ever met,” Guerrette said, emphasizing that Joseph is also a great student and teammate. “Everyone loves to have him around. Sometimes you get a star player that acts like he’s better than everyone, and he’s just the exact opposite. He’s really an A-plus kid.”
Joseph had been playing around the country this summer as part of the Puma circuit, a prominent series of AAU events that features some of the top developing basketball talent around the country. That experience, and this move to Maryland, are sure to provide Joseph with more exposure and experience.
“It’s going to put him in a spot where it’s easy to be seen,” Guerrette said. “It’s a lot easier for a college coach to travel to Maryland than it is for a college coach to travel to northern Maine to see a kid play. There’s bigger schools, there’s bigger opportunities the more south you go, or more central United States that you go.”
Guerrette said he is proud of Joseph for chasing his dreams, and while the Mars Hill community is sad to see Joseph go, people are happy for him and supportive of his decision to pursue this opportunity.
“He’s such a good kid, and anyone that’s going to be able to coach him in the future is going to be very lucky,” Guerrette said.
The Panthers coach is heading into just his second year at the helm, and despite losing Joseph, remains optimistic about the coming season.
“Just because we lost Jahleel, we still have a lot of talent coming through. We still have a really good team,” Guerrette said, pointing out that the team has already been playing well during his absence this summer. “They guys really came together without him, and I still think we’re going to do very, very well this year.”
Joseph is joining a national-caliber West Nottingham team that competed this past season in the Big Baller Brand National Prep Championships. Big Baller is a brand founded by LaVar Ball, the father of current NBA players Lonzo and Lamelo Ball.
