Prospect Spotlight: Alden Applewhite (2021)
This summer will be an important one for Lausanne Collegiate School’s sophomore combo guard Alden Applewhite as he’s looking to pick up more offers from Division 1 programs.
Just picking up the lone offer from Ole Miss, which the Memphis Elite invitee visited last year on an unofficial visit, isn’t good enough to satisfy Applewhite, who has interests from Georgetown, Missouri, and Memphis.
“I would like to pick up some more offers, pick up some more interests,” Applewhite said.
The potential for Applewhite to receive more offers from D1 programs is there. He has great upside as a 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard that can play both point and shooting guard. His ball handling skills are good, but needs a little more polishing. But, the great attribute Applewhite has is his ability to score at any given time, given he’s one of the biggest guards in the state of Tennessee.
In a 64-50 loss to Brentwood Academy in the Jerry Peters Memphis Summer Classic, Applewhite had 23 points, five rebounds, and two assists. In the first half of a 60-51 loss to Southwind High School, Applewhite had 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists before he was ejected out of the game after a short-lived skirmish with the Jaguars’ senior forward Kamron Jones.
Over the course of the classic, Applewhite and his teammate, senior guard Sky Forest, were swapping roles at point and shooting guard. Applewhite has had to play a lot of point guard, because of his athleticism and court vision, but doesn’t mind playing off the ball if he’s asked to do so.
“I don’t like being the primary ball handler, always having to dribble it,” Applewhite said. “Sometimes, I like to get off of it, so I’m pretty comfortable with playing off the ball. I started playing off the ball.”
Applewhite has a niche for scoring like his favorite basketball player in Golden State’s Kevin Durant, who is considered as a point forward because of his outside shooting and ball handling. Applewhite mentioned not only does he wants to master his offensive game, but he wants to be able to guard his position, something that’s been hidden from the eyes of the crowd when coaches go to zone to protect players who can’t defend in one-on-one situations.
While Applewhite will be focused on his individual accomplishments this summer, his biggest goal is for the Lynx to win the state championship in his sophomore season. With the help of Forest, another solid scoring option for Lausanne, the Lynx will have a strong backcourt to make a case for winning the state title. Lausanne hasn’t won the state championship since the 2016-17 season, when Forest was just a sophomore.
Applewhite has played alongside Forest for one full season, paying attention to his every move on the court, whether he’s in the game or on the bench.
“He has kind of taught me everything I need to know since my freshman year,” Applewhite said of Forest. “I knew how to play basketball, but he just taught me how to help my teammates out, and step up in big situations.”