When Jaquell Davis and Walker Bailey became the new girls and boys basketball coaches at J.Z. George High School during the summer, both understood the challenge that was facing them: Change the culture and perception about basketball at the school.
The Lady Jaguars and Jaguars started their 2025-2026 season Tuesday night against McAdams High School. Both teams are slated to play at Calhoun City Saturday.
Here’s a preview of each team:
J.Z. George Girls
Davis enters the season without one player who was going to be counted on heavily — Makylah Banks. She was killed in a car accident on U.S. 82 in August.
“This team is committing this season to Makylah,” said Davis. “It has been difficult, but they have rallied together.”
Davis is starting his first year at J.Z. George. He has spent the last three-plus years at Charleston High School as an assistant coach in football, track, cross-country and girls basketball. He is a 2017 graduate of Winona High School, a 2019 graduate of Holmes Community College and a 2022 graduate of Delta State.
“First and foremost, I would like to take this time to give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for blessing me with this opportunity,” said Davis. “My biggest goal coming into this season is to implement a culture of togetherness with these girls. Since the first practice, I have demanded that these girls get behind me in changing the culture and staying together. If we do not take care of those two things from the beginning, then we are beating ourselves.
“The community is going to see a new team of Lady Jags when it comes to handling adversity this year because of what they have been through already, from getting another coach, losing a teammate and everything in their personal lives. This team will be prepared to play.”
All of this year’s players are returning from last season’s squad, which was 7-20 under former coach Dejuan Clark.
Six players returning are senior center Leah Franklin, senior power forward Kiyunna Ward, junior small forward Dakiya Robinson, junior guard Jamiya Leahman, junior guard Kyndale Edwards and junior point guard Tysalyn Meeks.
“My lineups will change every night to fit the matchup against whom we are playing,” Davis said. “I know I can only start five of them, but I am not worried about having any dropoff subbing those six.”
J.Z. George Boys
The Jaguars were 11-14 last season under former coach Ahmad Alexander. Bailey came to J.Z. George from Senatobia High School, where he served as an assistant boys coach. He is a graduate of Ole Miss and Oxford High School.
“I think the most important thing that we’ve had to implement is structure and organization both in terms of our style of play as well as the day-to-day things that are required to win at a really high level,” Bailey said. “We’ve had to be really competitive in the weight room as well as in practice every single day. This season is the beginning of a new culture for basketball here, and those things all start with great players who are committed to the process and the journey required to win at the highest level.”
Bailey has a bevy of returning players from last season. They are seniors Broderick Green, Nehemiah Williams and Terrence Whitcomb, juniors Jonkevion Green, Nick Lacey, Tony Meeks, Kanye Weaver and Tyler Duren and sophomores Josh Fleming and Corey Reed.
“I think some of the biggest strengths of this team are going to be our pace and our unselfishness in sharing the basketball,” Bailey said. “We have a lot of players who can contribute to winning highly competitive basketball games, and there will be a trust in one another and a dedication to winning that will lead to a really balanced offense. One of the things as the season progresses that we hope turns into a strength is our shot selection. We’re incredibly particular in what shots we want to take, and so we want to hunt as many of those as possible.”
