STARKVILLE — Jazzmun “Jazz” Holmes isn’t going to let her relative inexperience hold her back.
Going up against speedsters like Morgan William and Roshunda Johnson every day in practice should be just the test Holmes needs to make a quick adjustment to the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
If Holmes, a 5-foot-9 guard from Harrison Central High School, can make that transition, MSU coach Vic Schaefer’s Bulldogs figure to be able to go at least two deep at every position for what many believe is a promising 2015-16 season.
“I think it is going to be a great experience,” Holmes said earlier this month in her first news conference with all of MSU’s newcomers. “Morgan pretty much helps me now with everything, trying to get all of the plays down and helping me to get better. She plays me extremely hard on defense, but it is going to be a great experience.”
Holmes is part of a class that includes 6-3 center Zion Campbell, 6-7 center Teaira McCowan, 5-7 point guard Johnson (transfer from Oklahoma State), and 6-0 forward Jazmine Spears, a first-team All-American at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College. The group earned a top-40 ranking from Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
All of the newcomers participated in the first term of summer school, which is slated to end Wednesday. The second term of summer school begins July 7.
In addition to getting a jump on their studies, all of the newcomers helped with the MSU women’s basketball camps and are working out with David Deets, the school’s new director of basketball performance, and honing their individual skills.
The class is expected to provide the Bulldogs with depth at every position. Last season, newcomers Victoria Vivians and William played integral roles in helping MSU return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010. Schaefer hopes all of the players — Johnson will have to sit out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules — will help provide valuable minutes for a team that is coming off a program-best 27 victories, including a school-best 11 wins in the Southeastern Conference.
Holmes acknowledges the speed of the game has been her biggest adjustment. William and Johnson, who played two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to MSU, have accentuated that point by pushing the tempo in practices and workouts. Holmes feels that style of play suits her game.
“(Schaefer) likes to push the ball, and that is what I like the most,” said Holmes, who said she likes playing both guard positions. “I think my pull-up jumper is one of the strengths of my game. I want to work on my defense and 3-pointers.”
Holmes was named to The Clarion-Ledger’s Dandy Dozen prior to her senior season. She capped her prep career by averaging 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 4.7 steals per game to earn second-team All-State honors. The two-time Dandy Dozen selection averaged 18.4 points and 5.1 rebounds as a junior. She earned three stars from ESPN/HoopGurlz and was rated 31st at her position.
Holmes should provide an athletic balance to rising sophomore William, who averaged 9.1 points and led the team with 123 assists (103 turnovers) in 21.4 minutes per game last season. Senior point guard Jerica James started all 34 games and averaged 4.9 points and was second on the team with 93 assists (60 turnovers).
“Jazz is a young lady that is going to be a great player for us as a combo guard,” Schaefer said last November in announcing Holmes’ signing. “It’s very important, in my mind, that to get to that next level you need a great combo guard that can play the one (point guard) and two (shooting guard), and Jazz fits all that. She sees the floor extremely well, and she can go off the bounce and shoot the three. I love her competitiveness, and she understands floor spacing and where the ball needs to go as good as any high school kid I think I have ever seen. Once again, we feel like we have signed the best player in Mississippi.”
Holmes’ mother, Shayla Holmes-Nelson, a Mississippi Ballers Amateur Athletic Union coach, played soccer at MSU. Her father, Tim, was a defensive standout for the MSU football team from 1996-99, helping MSU to the 1998 SEC Western Division title and appearances in the Cotton Bowl and Peach Bowl.
Holmes believes she will be able to handle the responsibility that comes with running a program ESPN.com’s Charlie Creme ranked No. 11 in his early rankings for the 2015-16 season.
“It is going to be different,” Holmes said. “I think I will be able to make the adjustment. I just have to work harder on everything.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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