STARKVILLE — Bret McCormick has followed women’s basketball for years.
Whether it was in his seven years as a Division I assistant coach or in his many years of evaluating players for All-Star Girls Report (ASGR), a national scouting service, McCormick has written “UConn” and “Tennessee” next to the names of countless highly regarded prospects.
If an informal poll McCormick recently conducted of fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-graders is any indication, there are new powers on the minds of the next generation of women’s basketball standouts.
“More players are saying South Carolina and Mississippi State and not Tennessee and UConn,” McCormick said.
That might be timely news for MSU coach Vic Schaefer and his program this weekend because they are playing host to five of the nation’s top recruits in the Class of 2019. MSU will make its pitch to Zia Cooke, a 5-foot-9 guard from Rogers High School (Ohio); Rickea Jackson, a 6-2 forward from Detroit Edison Public Academy; Maori Davenport, a 6-4 center from Charles Henderson High (Ala.); Endiya Rogers, a 5-6 guard from Bishop Lynch High (Texas); and Aliyah Matharu, a 5-7 guard from Bishop McNamara High (Washington, D.C). Cooke is espnW’s No. 7 prospect in the Class of 2019. She is rated No. 9 by ASGR. Jackson is ranked No. 9 by espnW and No. 5 by ASGR. Davenport is ranked No. 15 by espnW and No. 25 by ASGR. Rogers is rated No. 35 by espnW and No. 42 by ASGR. Matharu is a three-star guard by espnW and the No. 72 prospect by ASGR.
MSU already has secured verbal commitments from Jayla Hemingway, a 5-9 guard from Houston High (Tenn.), JaMya Young, a 5-7 guard from Loranger High (La.); and Esmery Martinez, a 6-foot forward from Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Tenn.); from the Class of 2019.
College coaches can’t comment about recruits, but The Dispatch reached out to the high school coaches of the five recruits who are visiting MSU this weekend. Lamar Smith, Cooke’s coach, and Frank Oliver, Matharu’s coach, didn’t respond to messages left by The Dispatch.
Endiya Rogers
“Unique” is the word that stands out when Andy Zihlman describes Rogers.
The Bishop Lynch High girls basketball coach acknowledges Rogers isn’t real big, but he said she can “pretty much do what she wants with the ball.”
Zihlman credits Rogers’ father for helping her develop her shooting and her ballhandling, which is why he said she recently moved to No. 1 on a list of the top recruits in the state of Texas for the Class of 2019.
“She is an incredible talent,” Zihlman said. “She pretty much has the complete package.”
Zihlman said Rogers’ knowledge of the game complements a skill set that includes shooting range out to the 3-point line. He joked that Rogers can even play defense, even though she hasn’t taken a lot of charges for him in high school. When he told Schaefer that, he said Schaefer said, “We’ll see about that.”
Zihlman said Rogers is a great athlete and a 4.0 student. He said she also is considering Ohio State, USC, Texas, and Tennessee. He said she already has visited Ohio State and Texas and is attracting a lot of attention following what he called an “incredible” summer.
Zihlman said he sees Rogers, who he believes wants to pursue a field of study in the medical field, maturing into an even better player at the next level.
“She is a competitor,” Zihlman said. “She is just so gifted with the ball and how she can pass and protect the ball and get through traps. She is smart enough to get rid of the ball in certain situations.”
Rickea Jackson
Monique Brown doesn’t hesitate to call Jackson a “gym rat.”
The Detroit Edison Public Academy girls basketball coach didn’t know how often Jackson would take her up on her offer to open the gym anytime she wanted to shoot. She has come to find out in the last five years that Jackson loves to work out at any time and even multiple times a day.
“I tell my players I am never going to call you to get in the gym and that they can text me when they want to get in the gym,” Brown said. “She has been one who has exceeded the amount of time I ever thought I would spend in the gym.”
Brown said Jackson started to see the rewards from her work in the eighth grade. Since then, she has Jackson has been “driven and determined” to get better by spending countless of hours in the gym.
What is Jackson’s secret?
Brown said naps power Jackson through days in which she gets up early to do a workout, eats something, does something with her mother, catches a few hours of sleep, and returns for another basketball workout.
“She will have it all planned out,” Brown said. “The coach who is going to get her better have a list of things she needs to do, like a video for her to see before she can do it on her own because she will be calling to ask to get in the gym.”
Brown said Jackson also is considering Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, and Louisville. She said Mississippi State is Jackson’s final official visit. Brown added that Jackson might take unofficial visits to Ohio State and Rutgers.
Brown said Jackson will weigh all of the pros and cons from all of the schools and likely will make a decision sometime in November.
Maori Davenport
Dyneshia Jones feels Davenport is growing into her size.
Even though she said Davenport is a soft-spoken player, she said her timing allows her to be an impact player on defense.
“You can’t teach that,” said Jones, who coaches Davenport at Charles Henderson High in Troy, Alabama. “She has been blessed with that talent, her height, and he ability. She can shoot with her right and her left hand, and she is a triple threat on the court.”
Jones said Davenport never imagined herself being a one-dimensional player or only a post player. She said she always has tried to find areas of the game for Davenport to work on, whether it has been her off hand or keeping the ball up high to keep it away from smaller players. In fact, Jones said she has allowed Davenport to run the point to broaden her skill set, but it all started with defense. She said she could remember watching Davenport play Upward Basketball in a local league and having such an impact that organizers instituted a three-second rule to keep players out of the post area.
Jones said Davenport already has visited Louisville and Georgia. She said she also will visit Florida and Rutgers. Jones expects Jones will make a decision in the early signing period in November.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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