The Mississippi State University women’s basketball team’s victory against then-No. 11 University of Georgia on Feb. 28 served notice at the national level that Vic Schaefer’s team was capable of big things.
Jazmine Spears was one of the 1,350 at Humphrey Coliseum to watch MSU’s 50-38 victory on Feb. 28, its first against a ranked team since the 2010 season.
MSU’s last victory of the 2012-13 season made such an impression on Spears that the New Albany High School standout wants to help the Bulldogs be a part of many more that capture national attention.
Late last month, the 5-foot-11 senior forward gave a verbal commitment to Schafer and MSU. This past season, she averaged 30.6 points, 15.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.7 blocked shots per game for Class 4A New Albany, which went 19-7 for coach John Stroud.
“I have been coaching 28 years in high school and college and Jazmine is one of the best girls players I have seen,” Stroud said. “Jazmine is a basketball player. She is a gym rat, and you don’t see those as much these days. A lot of colleges are recruiting athletes who are 6-1 or 6-2 or are long and lean and trying to make them into basketball players. Jazmine is a basketball player first. She knows how to play the game. Her knowledge and basketball IQ are going to take her a long way.”
Spears said MSU’s victory against Georgia was the team’s first home game she saw this season. She said she enjoyed the energy level and intensity MSU played with in holding Georgia to a season-low 18.2 percent shooting from the field and recording its first victory against a ranked opponent since a victory against Ohio State University in the 2009-10 season. That victory helped MSU secure the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
“On the ride home I was thinking, ‘Why not go there?’ ” said Spears, who has a cousin, Shaltita Edwards, who is a student at MSU and who graduates this year. “I liked the love they showed me, and I think I will love it there, too. I can’t wait to go. I am really excited.”
Spears said she anticipates signing a National letter of Intent on April 17, the first day of the regular signing period. She said she really didn’t talk to Columbus High standout Kiki Patterson, who has signed to play with MSU, about teaming up to help raise MSU back to national prominence, but she acknowledged she is excited about playing with a talented point guard who knows how to play the game and how to find players in scoring situations.
“The people coach Schaefer and his coaches have brought in sound good, and I am ready to play with them,” Spears said. “I am ready to do damage all around the court. I think it is going to be a fun experience.”
MSU has had three consecutive losing seasons since beating Ohio State. It went on to lose to Florida State University 74-71 in the Sweet 16 in Dayton, Ohio. Two seasons later, longtime coach Sharon Fanning-Otis announced her retirement. Schaefer, whose nickname is the “Secretary of Defense,” left his job as associate head coach at Texas A&M University and vowed to transform MSU into a contender. Spears, the sixth commitment MSU has received for the 2013-14 season, should help in that regard. She figures to join 6-5 center Chinwe Okorie, of Nigeria, Breanna Richardson, a 6-2 forward from the state of Georgia, Ketara Chapel, a 6-1 forward from Texas, Dominique Dillingham, a 5-8 guard from Texas, and Patterson, a 5-9 guard.
Richardson (No. 77), Chapel (No. 166), and Spears (No. 177) are ranked in the top 300 players in the Class of 2013, according to Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, a national scouting service.
“Jazmine Spears is a versatile player,” said Olson, a former college coach. “She is strong and plays numerous positions. She put up some serious numbers in high school, and I think she can handle the ball and defend the four. She can do a lot of things.”
Last week, Spears (first team) and Patterson (second team) were named to The Clarion-Ledger’s All-Star team. Schaefer’s daughter, Blair, who is a junior point guard at Starkville High, also was named to the second team. Blair Schaefer has given a verbal commitment to play for the Bulldogs.
MSU loses senior guard Darriel Gaynor and Brittney Young from this season’s team that went 13-17. Young announced earlier this month she will graduate early. Freshman guard Jessy Ward also has been granted a release from her scholarship and will transfer.
Stroud said Spears wanted to stay in the state of Mississippi and to play in the Southeastern Conference. He said Spears loves to pass the ball and should be able to step right in and contribute along the front line, even though she isn’t as tall as some of the opponents she will face in the SEC. He said Spears’ physical play will help her make up for any size difference.
“She is really strong, has really big hands, and plays like a boy,” Stroud said. “We played good competition in high school, and she played against the other teams’ biggest girl every night. I don’t have any reservations about her playing in the SEC. I have seen the numbers she has put up for five years. I think she is going to help State in a lot of areas.”
Spears scored 47 points in a one-point loss to Scott Central and Victoria Vivians this season. Stroud said she scored 35 or 36 points in a one-point loss to Columbus. He feels MSU’s recruiting work with Spears shows Schaefer and his staff are putting Mississippi first and that they are serious about having a program that builds relationships with coaches throughout the state.
“(Schaefer’s) knowledge and background and history of basketball is going to help him a lot,” Stroud said. “I think they are going to do really well. … They have great facilities, and I think if you give State time they are going to do really well.”
Spears agrees and said she will come in and try to “play like a beast” every day to help the Bulldogs get back to the Sweet 16 and push them to the next level.
“I am not selfish and I love to pass the ball at any time,” Spears said. “I am a beast on the boards and I go for what is mine. I just go get it.
“I am comfortable making the transition to the SEC. I am going to work on my perimeter shooting and on my ballhandling. I feel I am more like a four, but I could play the three.”
Spears finished her career with 3,277 points and 2,149 rebounds. She was a three-time selection to The Clarion-Ledger’s All-State team. She also made the first team as a sophomore and the second team as a junior.
College coaches can’t comment on verbal commitments until they receive a signed NLI.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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