Choosing one college and changing her mind for another made senior Jazmine Atkins an interesting topic in school sports recently. Atkins is a star basketball player at Northwood who recently made the big decision of what college she wanted to attend for basketball as well as her education. Atkins has continuously been recognized as a great basketball player and fantastic student but also as someone who knows what she wants and what she needs to do to get it. An interview with Atkins gave some information as to what convinced her to make her college decision, signing with a college that will provide her with everything she needs to play the sport she loves and get an education that will provide her with a successful career.
Tell me about how you got into basketball.
I was maybe five, six, seven, in that range when I started playing, but I started with playing break basketball. My dad started with this girl named Kristian Eanes; she also played basketball; her and I played right together.
How has basketball progressed for you over your years of learning how to play the game?
It’s been training in strides. Sometimes you would get better if you went to work out all the time, like two to three times a week, you have the weekends, and you just have to practice all the time. I would go out and shoot basketball with my dad outside, or we would go to the courts by my house and just shoot and play basketball, just practice.
Explain how the college sports signings work.
You have a process where you talk to the coach and get to know them, and you go on a visit where they pay for it, so they pay for your gas, your hotel and your food. I went to Alabama about a month ago and visited the school, and I talked to the coach, saw some players, worked out with them. You talk to the coach some more and tell them what your price range is, what you can afford and what you cannot afford, and they give you a scholarship based off of that. It all depends on how talented you are. I talked to the coach and listened to what he said; at first, he could only give me full tuition, and then I went to work out with him, and he ended up giving me a full ride. Then, they send you paperwork that you need to fill out and a contract. The contract is for every year, so the contract ends at the end of the year, and each year you resign the contract; it’s a letter of intent.
What made you change your mind about switching from Converse College to the University of Mobile to attend school?
I had originally signed to play with Converse College, an all girls’ school in Spartanburg South Carolina, and I absolutely loved it there, it was a beautiful campus, and I was going to be able to major in Biology for two years and then transfer to Vanderbilt University to do nursing. As I got my financial aid package, [Converse] could only offer me a four thousand dollar scholarship plus my financial aid, and that wasn’t enough for me to afford it. The coach reached out to some other coaches, so he reached out to the University of Mobile in Alabama, and he talked to the coach there, and that’s how I got connected with [them]; that’s what made me change my mind.
Which are you more excited for: majoring in Biology or playing basketball?
I think I’m more excited about playing basketball in college, because Biology isn’t exactly what I want to do; I wanted to do nursing. It would be really hard to manage that and play basketball, especially during my junior and senior year, because you start clinicals; I wouldn’t be able to make clinicals and play basketball at the same time. And nursing is a very strict major; you have to be there; you can’t be missing classes like I would be. Biology would just be a better study to major in because I could do that and just go back to school for two years and be a PA (Physician Assistant).
Was there ever a time in your life where you didn’t think basketball wasn’t for you?
Actually, yeah, when I first tore my ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament), I was very devastated because I knew it was just going to be so hard and such a long process. I started thinking ‘Maybe basketball isn’t for me;’ ‘Maybe this is just my sign from God that I don’t need to play anymore, and I need to let it go; it just wasn’t meant to be.’ Instead, I just worked it out, and I would work my butt off to get back so I could play another season. Then I tore my ACL again, and I thought ‘Oh my gosh, maybe this is another sign that I shouldn’t play basketball,’ but I just kept with it, because basketball is just the sport I love. A month before I signed, I had no idea that I was ever going to be playing college basketball, because the schools I was looking at weren’t giving me enough money, and I just felt like for me to go to a school and not have any money, I’ll be playing the sport that I love, but I won’t be doing it for anything. I want to be able to go to school for free or with some kind of cause, so that wasn’t going to be an option for me.
What reminded you that basketball was just something you loved?
What reminded me the most is that I kept pushing toward my goal of wanting to play college basketball. I felt like God only gives his strongest battles to the hardest workers, so if I kept working hard, then I could do what I wanted to do. My parents reminded me that; they always pushed me towards that because they knew that’s what I wanted in the end, and if I didn’t have basketball, I don’t know what I would do.
Do you think having torn your ACL twice is going to affect you and how you play basketball in college?
I do believe that it will affect me somehow and will limit me to some things. My first ACL was past its breaking point, and I’ve had experiences where it’s held me back. It usually takes nine to twelve months for an ACL to fully recover, so as long as I do rehab and do my stretches and exercises I need to do to protect my ACL, and I take it easy but not push myself to where I believe it will reinjure my knees and just stay healthy, then I’ll be fine.
Are your parents supportive of your choice of colleges?
Yes; my parents are very supportive. They’ve wanted me to go where I wanted to go, where I could be happy, where I could do the things that I love and what I wanted to major in, so when they found out that I was going to be able to do that for free, then they were very supportive. It was kind of tough, because Alabama is ten hours away, so they were really, especially my mama, very sad about that, but in the end she was really happy, because it was free school. I get to play the sport that I love the most so you can’t beat that.
Is there something outside of basketball that you are excited for in college?
Definitely the experience. I’m a first generation student, so its been really cool to see how that goes, and being so far away is going to be very different for me, because I’m going to have to learn to be on my own. It’ll be really hard to be without [my parents] and have them ten hours away instead of right on the other end of the house or something like that. I’m ready to meet new people that I’ve never met before that are not where I’m from; that will be really cool. My roommate is from California; we definitely come from two sides of the country.
Who are people that inspired you? Parents, friends, teachers, coaches?
Definitely my parents; they are the ones that inspired me to work hard and be the person that I want to be. Mrs. Dixon has made a big influence in my life; she has been there for the past four years since I met her, and she is my role model. I wish I could be just like her. My friends have always been there for me; they came and saw me when I had my second surgery, and that literally made my whole day to be able to see them. For them to be there definitely helped push me.
– By Jacqueline Condrey
