Kernersville (N.C.) Bishop McGuinness senior wing Adelaide Jernigan is in the stretch drive of multi-year recruitment.
Jernigan kicked off her official visit tour with the college she knows best, going to see NC State from Thursday-through-Saturday. She was joined by her parents and figures she’s been going to NC State unofficially since the eighth grade.
“It was really wonderful to be with the team more and have good conversations with coaching staff, team, academic side, NIL,” Jernigan said. “It was all great.”
NC State offered Jernigan on Sept. 18, 2022, and have never let up. There are very few things that she doesn’t know about coach Wes Moore and assistant coach Ashley Williams. One did pop up during her official visit.
“We talk a lot on the phone and I talk to Ashley as she’s my main recruiter,” Jernigan said. “I guess this summer I learned about his golf game, which he loves. I don’t play that much, but my dad plays, and I sometimes go play with him on the weekends. We went to Topgolf with the team, which was fun.”
Jernigan had unofficially visited NC State twice last winter — she attended the North Carolina at NC State game Feb. 1 — and then was at a team camp at Reynolds Coliseum last June.
Jernigan has seen the program arc of NC State rise up to reaching the Elite Eight, with a heart-breaking double-overtime loss to Connecticut in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. She then saw the Wolfpack go 20-12 in 2022-23 and lose to Princeton in the first round of the Big Dance.
NC State retooled the roster and shocked preseason expectations by reaching the Final Four, before falling 78-59 to South Carolina in the semifinals.
Jernigan and Moore have discussed at length how the program bounced back from the 2023 season. She knows the Wolfpack are built to win moving forward.
“It really showed the loyalty he [Moore] has with his players,” Jernigan said. “He makes them better and player development is big too. It was really good to see, they really enjoy it from talking to them. They love being together and I enjoyed seeing the chemistry.”
Jernigan has gotten to know NC State freshman point guard Zamareya Jones, sophomore point guard Zoe Brooks and sophomore center Mallory Collier through various basketball events over the years. Senior wing Madison Hayes was her player host for the trip and she is looking into majoring in sports broadcasting and journalism.
There are various aspects Jernigan is looking for in a future home, but feeling a family camaraderie with her teammates is right near the top.
“I’m crazy about chemistry on the team because that is who you will spend all your time with,” Jernigan said. “I know people on all three teams, which makes me feel good and at peace.”
Along those lines, NC State is also recruiting senior forward Lauren Hurst of Cleveland, Tenn., who has officially visited NCSU, Virginia Tech and Tennessee. Hurst unofficially visited NC State on Thursday and Friday. The two are good friends from a previous unofficial visit to Virginia Tech.
“I could definitely see myself playing with her in the future,” Jernigan said.
NC State also has freshman manager Avery Ray, who Jernigan played traveling team ball with on the Winston-Salem Stealers. Ray attended Winston-Salem Oak Grove High.
“She's a new manager,” Jernigan said. “We played basketball together when I was in fourth, third grade, and she was in fifth grade. We had just been friends ever since then. Bishop played Oak Grove, which was her high school team. I've always known her, and we've always been friends. She's really sweet, so I'm glad that they got her.”
The Michigan relationship received a boost when the Wolverines hired NC State assistant coach Erin Batth on April 22, 2022. Batth is now the head coach at Providence, but Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico has been able to keep the recruiting relationship going. Jernigan has unofficially visited Ann Arbor, Mich.
NC State and Michigan both play with four shooters around a post player. She’ll visit Michigan on Sept. 20-22, and she knows freshman guard Olivia Olson.
“I also had [ex-assistant coach] Harry [Rafferty] too, and then it went to Coach Arico,” Jernigan said. “I would talk with them as much as I talked to Wes and Ashley [at NCSU]. I like them because like NC State, they have a big family atmosphere. The academic side is great because I know the basketball side will end.”
Kentucky jumped in the race after hiring coach Kenny Brooks of Virginia Tech. Brooks has recruited Jernigan since the end of her freshman year. She knows Brooks and his staff, but doesn’t know the school or the city of Lexington, Ky. The official visit this upcoming weekend will be her first time going to Kentucky. She is friends with UK freshman Lexi Blue.
“Their fan base and school is twice as big [as Virginia Tech],” Jernigan said. “Kentucky’s brand is just bigger. I’m learning about the SEC and that is different. I’ll learn more about this weekend.”
The other dynamic at play is the various leagues involved — ACC, SEC and Big Ten. Jernigan wants to have some sort of role early in her college career and fit in. She knows the ACC the best, and the league continues to get stronger. Michigan went 20-14 last year and lost in the first round to Kansas, while Kentucky went 12-20 and went through the coaching transition.
“I want to learn where my role would fit playing-wise,” Jernigan said. “I’m a shooter and I spread the floor. I want to see what coaches do that more than others.
“Wes does that a lot. I am curious how Kenny will play differently in the SEC because you have to play different compared to the ACC.”
Jernigan’s junior year was full of ups and downs, mainly due to an injury that slowed the start of her season. She missed the John Wall Holiday Invitational in Raleigh in late December, but eventually found her groove. The standard at Bishop McGuinness has always been to win the NCHSAA 1A state title.
Jernigan pumped in 28 points, but the Villains lost 61-55 to Cherokee (N.C.) High in the state semifinals. It’s a loss that she thinks about regularly providing motivation. Jernigan is also hoping for a tennis team title this fall.
"I think about that game almost every single day," said Jernigan, a left-handed shooter, who does everything else right-handed.
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