JACKSON — The Mississippi Association of Coaches announced the rosters for the Mississippi/Alabama and Mississippi North/South All-Star games on Monday, naming local talents from Starkville and Columbus to the games.
Starkville’s Zariyah Edwards was named a Mississippi All-Star while teammate Jada Gay and Jacket boys players Jaden Tate and TJ Warren Jr. were named to the North All-Star Teams.
Tate and Warren are part of a Jacket team that is rolling under first-year head coach Anthony Carlyle. They’re currently 18-5 (4-2 in 2-7A) with five games left in the regular season.
“I think both guys are very deserving,” Carlyle said. “They have played well all year and it’s an honor because the coaches who selected them have either competed against them or watched them several times throughout the year and thought highly of them to be 2 of the 12 chosen. I am proud of their success and look forward to them representing Starkville High School.”
Starkville is also sending its girls basketball coaching staff as part of the North All-Star team, with head coach Matt Willbanks joined by assistants Kelcia Bufkin and Devonte Stallings on the sideline. The Jackets are 17-5, including a 6-0 mark in district under Willbanks in his first season as head coach.
Columbus’ Michael Hood Jr. will join Tate and Warren on the North All-Star boys team.
“He’s done well this year, kind of the same as his sophomore year,” Columbus head coach Phillip Morris said of Hood’s selection. “He’s our leader in scoring, even though it’s pretty balanced in the team, but he’s a guy that does it all. He rebounds, he defends, and he leads by example.”
Hood, a junior, leads the Falcons in scoring this season as they hunt for a return to the state championships. Columbus is currently 17-3, and a perfect 6-0 in district play, and Hood has been a big reason why.
“It’s an individual award but it speaks to the work these guys put in as a team,” Morris added. “He’s made big strides as a player and a classroom, he made straight-A’s last semester, so the guys see him and have that to stride towards. It’s part of being a successful team and it all goes towards the ultimate goal of the state championship we’re trying to reach this year.”
The 2025 Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Basketball Games will take place on March 8 at the Mitchell Center on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile, Ala. The girls will tip off at noon, followed by the boys at 2 p.m.
The 2025 Mississippi Sports Medicine North/South All-Star Basketball Games will be played on March 15 at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College. The girls will tip off at 3 p.m., followed by the boys at 4:30 p.m.
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