STARKVILLE – As Kelsey Jones begins her senior season, she is one of the state’s top basketball prospects.
The recruiting process figures to be long and difficult. There will be highs and lows and lots of interest from all parts of the country.
Fortunately, Jones has her support system already built in and ready to go.
“The best thing to happen to me is watching (older brother) Kobe go through (recruitment),” Jones said. “I learned so much from him. Official visits to Ole Miss and Alabama. I watched him deal with coaches and evaluate schools. It was a neat process. It has made me ready for this season.”
Kobe Jones, an all-state performer in football, chose national signing day to officially sign with Mississippi State. Several months from now, it will be time for Kelsey Jones to make a similar decision.
This past season, Kelsey Jones was the driving force as Starkville made a second straight appearance in the Final Four of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state tournament.
Kelsey Jones averaged 13.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game for Starkville, which finished 26-3. For her efforts, she is being chosen The Dispatch’s Large Schools Girls’ Basketball Co-Player of the Year for a second straight season.
For leading Starkville back to the Final Four for a second straight season, Kristie Williams is also being honored as The Dispatch’s Large Schools Girls’ Basketball Co-Coach of the Year for a second straight season.
“It was a tough season,” Kelsey Jones said. “We had some ups and downs but we still pulled through. Going to the Final Four two years in a row is a good feeling. But we still haven’t won the championship, so there is a lot of disappointment. We know we were as good as any of the final teams left.
“So really that is the motivation for my senior season. We have to get back there and win a championship.”
Before the 2015 state tournament, Starkville had last played in Jackson in 1992. Kristie Williams was on that state championship team. Now that the squad has won 51 game over two seasons and made back-to-back trips to Jackson, the entire landscape of the program has changed.
“We were fortunate enough to make it to the Final Four,” Kristie Williams said. “That is a huge accomplishment. We were one of the last four of 32 teams in highest classification. It didn’t end how we wanted it to. However, we can take a lot of pride in what we accomplished. We were district championships. We won the district tournament. You have to pause and look back and be proud of the accomplishments.”
In her sophomore season, the focal point of the SHS offense was almost exclusively Jones. This season, other players grew and developed. Senior Eryka Williams, who is an Itawamba Community College signee, also blossomed in a leadership role.
“We had some really young players (sophomores Tabreea Gandy and Jariyah Covington) who stepped up and improved throughout the season,” Kelsey Jones said. “I think this year was more fun because it just seemed like we got better and better. Each player knew their role and each week they got a little better.
“That is why we feel like we can go back (to the state tournament). The question in our mind is not ‘Can we go back?’ but instead it is ‘Can we finish?’ Can we win that championship that we want?
Kristie Williams said athletic director Milton Smith helps set the standard at the school.
“Our athletic director Milton Smith is a graduate of here,” Kristie Williams said. “He said expectations are a given because we strive to have the best all-around athletic program in Class 6A. The girls are living up to what we expect them to do. However, we push them harder every day now than ever before.
“Whether it is on the court or in the classroom or in conditioning, we push more because we expect more.”
While Kobe Jones helps provide a recruiting mentor, Kristie Williams is also playing such a role for Kelsey Jones.
“She keeps me on track with my grades and stuff,” Kelsey Jones said. “She has just been incredible to me. She told me in ninth grade that I had the talent to go anywhere. She keeps me on track every day when things that I need to know.”
Eryka Williams had the same type of relationship with her coach.
“Playing (at Starkville) was just an incredible experience,” Eryka Williams said. “Coach (Williams) was like a friend, a mother and a coach. When you really thought you had given all that you had to give, you found out you could give more. To be able to reach the semifinal the last two years is special. We would like to have won two more games but all in all, we had a great run.
“This team will provide me memories I will have for the rest of my life.”
While Kelsey Jones will continue to follow Kobe Jones when he sets foot on the MSU campus this fall, she knows one other thing she would like to have in common with her brother.
“He now has a (football state championship) ring,” Kelsey Jones said. “I think’s it only fair that I get one, too.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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