Currie-Jelks getting fresh start with Racers
WBB: The junior forward was the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year
Sometimes in life, timing is everything.
Murray State Head Coach Rechelle Turner spent time recruiting Sharnecce Currie-Jelks when Currie-Jelks was playing for Jackson South Side High School in Jackson, Tennessee. After tearing her left ACL as a sophomore, Currie-Jelks tore it again as a senior. That’s when her recruitment to Murray cooled.
“At the time, they felt it was best to just cut ties,” Currie-Jelks said.
The timing, along with Currie-Jelks health, just weren’t right.
After a freshman season at UT Martin where Currie-Jelks averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds, where she earned First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference while being named the OVC Freshman of the Year, the 6’2 forward transferred to Indiana. After two years with the Hoosiers, Currie-Jelks was ready to make another move.
This time around, the timing was perfect to get her into a Racer uniform.
“I love Coach Turner,” Currie-Jelks said with a huge smile across her face. “She's a very genuine woman. When she reached back out, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s go time!’”
With the loss of senior forwards Katelyn Young and Ava Learn, adding interior depth was a priority for Turner and her staff this spring. Being able to sign a player with Currie-Jelks’ pedigree was an easy choice for Turner.
“Physically and athletically, who she is fits our style of play,” Turner said. “She runs the floor. She can use her athleticism in all sorts of ways. We need somebody to come in and be able to score with their back to the basket, to try in some way, shape or form to make up for all that we lost in the post. Just knowing her, knowing her work ethic and all that she’s capable of doing talent-wise, it was a no-brainer for us to make that phone call. I do believe, ultimately, the relationship that she and I have had over the years, the relationship that we have with Coach (Brent) McNeal and Jackson South Side, with (Ke’Shunan James) also, all those little things helped us to win a recruiting battle with her.”
James was the OVC Player of the Year in Turner’s first season as Murray State’s head coach back in 2018. Before she was a Racer and ultimately a Murray State Hall of Famer, James was also a standout at Jackson South Side High School. Current Racer freshman Jaidynn Askins also came to Murray State from the Jackson South Side program. The recruiting pipeline from Jackson to Murray is strong, and Currie-Jelks hopes she can be the next great Racer that comes from South Side.
“It’s big shoes to fill,” Currie-Jelks said. “(James) left a wonderful mark on Murray State. It’s honestly exciting to know that the same gym that she played in, I get to play in.”
“It’s built on relationships, just like our whole program,” Turner added. “If KJ had had a bad experience with us, Sharnecce and Jaidynn wouldn't even have considered us. If we didn't have a strong relationship with Coach McNeal and carried that on and stayed in communication and supported them, then these things don't happen. I will forever believe, even in the era of money and everything else supposedly mattering more, I will always go back to the relationship piece is the most important piece in everything that we do. We will continue to build those relationships and foster those relationships with our current, former and future Racers.”
After leaving UT Martin, Currie-Jelks played at Indiana for two seasons, but only saw 19 minutes of total action with the Hoosiers. It has been more than 27 months since she has played meaningful basketball, so the Racer forward is doing her best to be patient with herself as she gets acclimated to her new basketball home.
“I’m just trying to be, as they say, wherever my feet are at — be there,” Currie-Jelks said. “So, just come in, whatever is presented to me, do the best I can, and don't be so hard on myself. Give myself grace. To know that I'm basically a sophomore in college because I didn't play really for two years, and to just continue to grow and be better than I was yesterday.”
“I think the game speed will be something that will just take her a while,” Turner said. “Obviously stepping into the way we play is going to be even faster than what she's used to. As we were going through the process of vetting her to see what's been going on the last couple years and would she be able to make the transition, I mean she practiced every day against Big 10 kids. She was able to go up against that type of competition day in and day out, so that puts her in a position to be ready. Now, there's no substitution for game reps, so she obviously will have to get used to that, but so will freshman, so will other transfers. We’re kind of all starting over and resetting together.”
So what was it like to go through her first week of summer workouts as a Racer?
“It's been wonderful,” Currie-Jelks said. “Honestly, I’m glad to just touch the floor again and I’m just going to make the best out of everything. Come in and work hard, do extra everything because it's where you grow. I’m just going to make the best out of it.”