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Texas A&M Women's Basketball
“Oh yeah, but she had already committed. She committed early in her junior year and while we were recruiting Khaalia, we would have loved to recruit her but she had already committed so we couldn’t do anything.”
Gary Blair details transfer of Michigan State G/F Jasmine Lumpkin
On how Lumpkin's transfer occured...
“She dropped into our lap. A lot of it was due to her getting homesick for her parents, and her parents had moved to Houston because of her mom’s health. She needed to be in a warmer climate to treat the issues she had, so they chose Houston. We were the first top 25 school that was close to her. She went to Michigan State and they were an NCAA team the last few years. Jasmine started 14 out of 15 games for them this season. She was playing fine, hot and cold like most freshmen, but she played extremely well against Baylor in the tournament they played in Florida. She’s an extremely athletic kid, similar to the girl we’re bringing in from Atlanta, Anriel Howard. Both of these kids have tremendous versatility where they can play two positions, both the three and four position.On Lumpkin's eligibility...
We’ll get her eligible, as of right now, next December after the first semester grades. There is an appeal process, but we’re not counting on it, we just know what we have and that’s after the first semester. Today was her first workout and she played extremely well against the men’s practice team. She can workout with us all year and she’ll be going to summer school. She’s a good kid. She’s a kid who was very close to her parents and her two brothers and she wanted to be close to home.On Lumpkin's role on the team down the line...
It’s just icing on the cake, we had an extra scholarship available and as of right now this will be the start of the 2016 group because we have a junior ball club this year and we’re going to need people in that class. What I want to do is start loading up for the kids that are we’re going to lose with those five seniors (the current junior class) that will graduate. This is a great start for us. She’s fitting in with our kids great, she’s moved in with a women’s track athlete and so it’s just a win-win, Merry Christmas.On Lumpkin's relationship with current A&M freshman Khaalia Hillsman...
“The relationship she had with Khaalia was huge. When she knew she wanted to move down south, she said who do I know down south and Khaalia was one that played summer ball with her. That really helped and she also wanted to go to a top program like she was at at Michigan State. She had no problems and she loved it there, but she wanted to be closer to mom and dad.”On if his staff tried to recruit Lumpkin out of high school...
On the strengths of Lumpkin's game...
“Her strength is driving the ball. She has an extremely high release on her shot. She’s just as athletic as any kid we have right now on the team. She’s a larger version of Tori Scott at 6-0 instead of 5-9 that can just fly and run the floor and jump. I think knowing that we’re going to graduate both of our four players this year, she’s just another kid we can throw into the mix. If she can compete more at the four, that allows us to leave Courtney Williams more at the three. We’ll just wait and see, but with her and Howard coming in, we feel like we’re in great shape.”On what Lumpkin needs to improve on before playing next season...
“She just needs to learn how to say ‘y’all’, how to eat chicken fried steak and Mexican food. She just needs to be a freshman and enjoy the time. She’ll have time to concentrate on her grades. She can’t travel with us, so while she’s at home she can get a lot of time in and be working on her individual strengths and get ahead in academics.”Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
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