Summer basketball games such as those that took place this past Monday and Tuesday at the 18th Annual Summer Jam at Bryan County High School are designed to work on getting better, looking at upcoming newcomers, experimenting with different combinations, working on team chemistry… You get the picture.
But that doesn’t make a double-digit loss to a county rival any more palatable. Not if you’re Jasmine Mikell, a competitor to her very core.
It was obvious after the Redskins, playing their fourth game in less than 24 hours and looking tired, got mauled by a talented Richmond Hill team in an 11 a.m. game.
It was one of 24 games played on Monday with a similar number on Tuesday. The games were played at the high school and middle school gyms and have become a staple on the summer circuit since Redskins Coach Mario Mincey came up with the concept. This year’s event had 26 teams participating and several brought their junior varsity teams, too.
Mikell, a rising senior who has started in every game for the Redskins the past three years, and rising sophomore Layla Mincey are, along with senior-to-be Liz Harvey, expected to be the cornerstones of a team looking to once again be the team to beat in Region 3A-DII.
Both Mikell and Mincey, who is the daughter of Mario, want to win; they are also looking at improving as players.
“I want to become more of a teammate and a leader,” said Mikell who was also clearly exasperated by the loss.
“I’m working more on my shooting and doing more with my left hand.
“We’re going to have a lot of new people this year,” Mikell said. “We’ve got a lot of incoming freshmen and some players who will be good sophomores.
“I feel good about how we’ve played this summer. Our strength this (upcoming) season will mostly be in the post and our defense. We’re going to be more of a defensive team this year than an offensive team.”
Mincey is one of those “good sophomores” Mikell referenced and at 5-8 she will be THE post player. Last year she was part of a Big Three that included Ashanti Brown and Soniya Whitaker on a 24-4 team that advanced to the Sweet 16.
That was, incidentally, the seventh 20win season for the Redskins in the last eight years. The streak was interrupted only by COVID.
With Mikell as the starting point guard the Redskins have gone 71-14 including a 26-4 mark her sophomore year which equaled the school record for most wins in a season.
As the coach’s daughter and a sometimes starter last year Mincey drew more attention and scrutiny than the normal freshman but she proved up to the task.
She earned her playing time and although she’s penciled in as a starter this upcoming season she’s taking nothing for granted.
It should be noted that while the Redskins will be playing 20 or more games this month both Mikell and Mincey will log another two dozen or so with their travel ball teams. They’ve been playing on that circuit since April.
Mincey said that although she’s the coach’s daughter and she’s been hanging out watching Redskins teams since she was teething, she doesn’t feel pressured to perform at a higher level.
“I just go out and play my game,” Mincey said. “The pressures and expectations are the ones I place on myself.
“It’s not difficult playing for him because he’s been coaching me my whole life,” Mincey said. “What I’m working on is just improving my game: shot selection, rebounding, becoming a leader, defense, denying in the post.
“My free throw shooting, too. Playing in the post you’re going to get fouled a lot. Stuff like that.”
Stuff like that is what summer basketball is all about. And Mincey—Mincey the coach—is making sure his players are working on the right stuff. The proof will be in the pudding when November rolls around.
Mike Brown is a sports correspondent with the Bryan County News.
