DAHLONEGA - When Jaymee Carnes stepped into the basketball program at North Georgia College & State University, she knew the door was going to be open to have a long and successful college career just miles from where she grew up in Gainesville.
She didn't know, however, that she'd be an immediate hit and one of the nation's best in several offensive and defensive categories in women's Division-II college basketball.
Through six games for the Lady Saints (4-2, 1-0 Peach Belt Conference), Carnes is the Divison-II leader in points per game (28.8) and blocks (almost five per outing). And as of Wednesday's game against Georgia College, she was second in the nation with 16 rebounds per game.
With such a stellar run early in her sophomore season, Carnes, a 2010 Gainesville High graduate, isn't regretting for a second her decision to transfer away from Wake Forest University, where she played in 28 games and averaged 2 points per game as a freshman.
"I'm very happy with my decision," Carnes said. "The program here is really good, we have a great team and I get to see my family and friends all the time."
Call it a win-win situation for Carnes.
The six-foot forward asserted herself as a force when she scored 40 points and notched 18 rebounds in an 86-67 win against Brenau on Nov. 25 at Memorial Hall.
In 36 minutes of play, she hit 16 of 24 shots from the field and blocked nine shots. Of that game, Carnes said it was the kind of night where everything was clicking and the points were spread out evenly between the first and second half of play.
The night after scoring 40 against Brenau, she played all 40 minutes and finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 78-63 loss to Tusculum, also in Dahlonega.
"What she's been able to do is a result of all the hard work she's put into playing the game," her father Steve Carnes said.
Lady Saints coach Buffie Burson has seen Carnes flourish right before her eyes in just a few months. Not only is Carnes tall, she also has a shooter's touch around the basket, and she's far from simply a one-dimensional player.
"Jaymee is the real deal," Burson said. "In our young season, only (six) games in, teams have already thrown triple teams and junk defenses at her, and she has managed to find a way to overcome it in every game.
"She's a fierce competitor and brings a huge amount of intensity to our team. I look forward to seeing how she impacts our team throughout the challenging Peach Belt Conference. I have all the confidence in the world in her. She's a true winner."
The Carnes family is thrilled with Jaymee's decision to come back and play at North Georgia.
Aside from the fact that she's found her niche staring with the Lady Saints, her father said that the entire family is a staple in the bleachers for all the home games. Jaymee loves getting to peek up in the stands during the game and see her parents, siblings, grandparents that live nearby and friends from home, including some who attend school in Dahlonega.
"It's a blessing having Jaymee playing at North Georgia and doing so well," her father added. "We're all so proud of her."
Carnes, who averaged 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game her senior year of high school, decided about this same time last year that she'd try to transfer away from Wake Forest, citing homesickness as her main reason, but knew she would stick it out the remainder of the year before enrolling at a new school.
Carnes said from the beginning that North Georgia was at the top of her list. Since she transferred down from Division-I, she didn't have to sit out for a season per NCAA rule.
"For her to have to sit out a year really wasn't an option," her father said.
The majority of North Georgia's schedule the remainder of the way is in the Peach Belt Conference. On Saturday, the Lady Saints play host to Young Harris, a non-conference opponent, in Dahlonega.