BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jazzmun Holmes has spent most of her career creating chances for her teammates.
This season, the Mississippi State senior guard just might find a few more chances to be opportunistic for herself. If she can, there is no telling how effective the MSU women’s basketball team’s offense can be, even after losing four starters who were all perimeter scoring threats.
“I think they have to be opportunistic,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said Thursday when asked how many shots his point guards will have to make this season. “I think Morgan (William) was opportunistic in her career. JJ (Jerica James) was opportunistic in her career. Some nights it might mean five or six points and nine or 10 assists. Other nights it might be 10 or 12 points and five assists, but I think you have to be able to adjust.”
One way Holmes could adjust is by moving off the point to the two-guard, a position she said she played at Harrison Central High School. Holmes said she likes playing at the two better because she can see the action instead of having her back toward the action. How much time Holmes logs at the two remains to be seen, but the fact that Schaefer is moving Holmes to the wing shows he is willing to shuffle responsibilities between senior guard Jordan Danberry and redshirt freshman Myah Taylor.
Holmes said she, Danberry, and Taylor can play the point. She said all three players were on the court at the same time once against the men’s practice team, which she gives the Bulldogs a chance to have a very fast team
“It is going to be hard to get past us, especially knowing the type of defense Jordan likes to play and I like to play,” Holmes said. “That is what coach likes, so we just have to get after it.”
The question that remains, though, is how much Holmes will contribute to the offense. As a junior, she appeared in all 39 games (14.8 minutes per game) and averaged 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds. She shot 47 percent from the field and was second on the team in assists (105) and third in steals (45).
This season, Holmes is expected to play more minutes and to be a mentor for Taylor, who redshirted last season. Holmes showed Thursday at Southeastern Conference Media Day she is ready to step into that role. The player who started her career as a quiet member of the team has found her voice and appears primed to be a vocal and a lead-by-example for younger players like freshmen Xaria Wiggins and Jessika Carter.
Senior center Teaira McCowan arrived at MSU at the same time as Holmes. She smiled when asked how much Holmes has matured in her time in Starkville. McCowan knows something about maturation because she said they both have found their comfort zones with the Bulldogs after an initial transition period.
“She has matured a lot,” McCowan said. “From freshman year when we were both like I don’t want to say nonchalant, but I guess that is what you would call it, she has had her moments that she would get so frustrated and she would just break down and stop. Now when things get hard she takes a breath and proceeds on.”
Holmes has learned Schaefer doesn’t allow his point guards to take many breathers. She said she understands she has to take care of the basketball and be accountable for everybody.
“It’s a tough job. It’s a tough position,” Schaefer said. “All of those responsibilities come with being the point guard. I feel so comfortable with her as our point guard, her and Myah both. Both of those kids have a real understanding what it looks like to be a point guard for a Vic-Schaefer coached team.”
The opportunity to lead Schaefer’s team doesn’t faze Holmes. In fact, sitting under the bright lights on the set at the SEC Media Day, Holmes looked right at home answering questions. She has displayed that confidence on both ends of the floor in her first three years at MSU, so there is no reason to doubt she will be able to do a little more of it in her final year as a Bulldog.
“I just stay humble and stay hungry,” Holmes said. “That is what coach always tells us, so whenever the task is given to me I am going to take it.”
“I am excited. I know it is going to be tough, but I am just ready to do whatever coach asks me to do, and whatever my teammates need me to do. I know I have to be a good defender. I can’t make silly fouls or anything like that. I definitely have to score more. Other than that, everything else just has to go to another level.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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