PONTOTOC – There are a lot of moving pieces this summer at Starkville, but there’s also a fair amount of continuity.
The Yellow Jackets brought in former Morton head coach Matt Wilbanks to helm their girls basketball program following the retirement of Kristie Williams. On top of that, Tootie Lockett, Class 7A’s Miss Basketball last year, graduated.
But with plenty of returning talent, Starkville should still be a difficult out this winter.
“The kids are working hard, just putting in a lot of new stuff,” Wilbanks said. “A lot of inexperienced players are getting some playing time. It’s going to pay off for us.”
Starkville is coming off a 24-7 season in which it lost to eventual state champion Tupelo in the quarterfinals. Wilbanks hasn’t had much time to install sets this summer, but the early returns on defense have been promising.
During a summer league game against Houston on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets shut down the Hilltoppers’ offense while finding enough points to pull away.
“Very happy, very excited, we’ve been preaching defense for the last two or three weeks that I’ve been here with them,” Wilbanks said. “And that’s kind of been what’s been hard to get them to buy into. But today, we took a step in the right direction.”
Replacing Lockett won’t be easy, but senior Zariyah Edwards’ production last year wasn’t far off. Edwards averaged 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and landed on the Journal’s All-Area second team.
“She’s going to be huge for us offensively,” Wilbanks said. “She’s the kind to give us a mismatch most games. No other team usually has a 6-1 athlete like that that can guard the post. I told her she can be the most dominant post player I’ve ever had if she wanted to be.”
Wilbanks also praised senior C.C. Warren’s game on Tuesday. Warren ran the floor for the Yellow Jackets, but she’s still getting used to playing point guard.
“It’s new for me because I’ve never had to play point guard,” Warren said. “I’m definitely adjusting, but for now, I’ll just take the minutes coach has given me.”
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