Sophomore Adelaide Jernigan becoming all-around force
CONCORD — Sophomore Adelaide Jernigan did a little bit of everything in helping her traveling team win Friday night, showing why she has emerged as a coveted recruit.
Jernigan had 24 points, 10 rebounds and one of her three assists helped set up the sudden death overtime basket to help the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Stealers defeat the MHD Elite Huskies at the Carolina JamFest. The Stealers working toward the Run 4 the Roses on July 6-8 in Louisville, Ky., which will bring out the majority of Division I school to evaluate.
NC State coach Wes Moore offered the Kernersville (N.C.) Bishop McGuinness standout Sept. 18, which set off a wave of offers. Florida State, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Michigan followed. VT coach Kenny Brooks was watching Jernigan on Friday.
Jernigan last took an unofficial visit to NC State in February.
“NC State has been great and I love the coaching staff,” Jernigan said. “I love [assistant] coach Ashley [Williams], Coach Wes and [assistant coach] Nikki [West]. We’ll see how it is in the fall and hopefully get back on campus.”
The lefty sniper has picked up recent offers from Clemson, Providence, Boston College and Harvard.
The 5-foot-10 wing has taken the recruiting attention in stride, but has unofficially visited a few colleges, including North Carolina and Michigan.
“It can be stressful sometimes with recruiting,” Jernigan said. “My family and coach, we’ll just choose the best fit. Coaches will call on June 1. It will be hectic and constant.”
Jernigan knows the harder she works, the more potential offers that might come. She also has played tennis for Bishop McGuinness.
“My main goal is to work hard every game and apply from practice to games,” Jernigan said.
An impressive amount of coaches came to see Jernigan and Bishop McGuinness play at Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic and junior center Blanca Thomas on Jan. 17. Thomas had 37 points, 23 rebounds and three blocks in the 67-49 win, which proved to be a good learning experience for Bishop McGuinness. Jernigan had 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and four steals in the loss.
“We play different positions, but I know coaches came,” Jernigan said. “You don’t play against schools that have someone 6-5. That was definitely an adjustment. I think if we played them next time, we’d go more zone. We knew we had to work on boxing out after that game.”
Bishop McGuinness won 15 of its last 16 games en route to the NCHSAA 1A state title. The Villians rolled past Siler City (N.C.) Chatham Charter 73-43 in the title game at history Reynolds Coliseum. Jerrnigan had a game-high 21 points, plus four assists with Moore looking on in attendance.
“That was definitely a great feeling,” Jernigan said. “My goal on my goal sheet in my room was to win a state championship my sophomore season. I wanted to do that my whole year.”
Jernigan averaged 18.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this past winter. She shot 51 percent from the field and 35.1 percent on three-pointers.
“We had a lot of mornings up before school,” Jernigan said. “We were doing conditioning and work behind the scenes. I’d have box-and-ones against me or another girl on the team, and we had to adopt to that. You have to get open to win.
“I’ve shot the ball so many times that I know my form and I know my shot. If it’s an open shot, I have to make that shot.”
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