MADISON- The mix of the old with the new will be the hot topic for the James Clemens girls basketball team this season as the varsity team has six core players who have been with the school since its beginning five years ago and three new players, including Destinee McGhee, who just happens to be the No. 15 player in the U.S. for the class of 2020.

“The six players who have been with us since the beginning are an extension of us, clearly understand who we are and are in control of our culture,” said Amber Deline head coach of James Clemens. “Having those new players, especially the talents Destinee has, will just add to the core we’ve built on and will be very beneficial to our team.”

For the player they call simply “D”, moving to a new team is more like coming home. McGhee, 6-foot-2 and a player Deline called a “force of nature and a leader,” grew up with the core players of the Lady Jets program attending elementary school and playing on recreational basketball teams together. She decided to attend the private school Madison Academy in grades seven through nine where she became one of the top players for the Lady Mustangs winning the 2017 Class 4A State Championship. She averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game and was honored for her play by being selected as Class 4A First Team All-State and 4A state tourney MVP.

So, why the move to a new school after setting ground in such a winning atmosphere at Madison Academy?

“I just feel like this is home for me with the girls I grew up with and they treat me so well,” said McGhee, daughter of Jeffrey and Mable McGhee. “It was a very hard decision to leave MA, but we live close to this school and I had a good feeling I would do good with the move.”

Deline said McGhee reached out to her program in June and expressed how she wanted to finish school with her childhood friends as they all attended Mill Creek Elementary together. McGhee attended numerous James Clemens events and was always one of the girls despite her playing for another school.

In her fourth year as head coach, Deline is well aware of the core players of Bria Junearick, Regan Williams, T.K. Grandberry, Viviana Cabrales, Brooke Butler and Adrian Grant would welcome their friend to the program, not to mention the other new players including Kortney Hale and Bre Jefferson. One additional transfer, Mikiyah Parker also from Madison Academy, was set to play this season, but has undergone two shoulder surgeries and will miss the entire campaign.

“These girls have bought into our culture and they’ve all made our team better,” said Deline of her core players.

McGhee has always been the tallest girl in her class and began playing basketball in second grade. She has been on a rollercoaster ride of sorts playing at Madison Academy where one of her teammates was fighting cancer. Now, McGhee’s father has had some health issues with his heart and is on strong medications and has had to quit work. She made the emotional switch in schools and basketball programs that have been different from the stand point of wins and losses. A season ago the Mustangs won the state title while the Jets were 15-15.

“Destinee is a true center-post player and we’re blessed to have a player of her talents,” said Deline. “I’ve coached against her and she is a force of nature as a player as she is strong and has great hands. She can score and rebound, but is not selfish as once defenses collapse on her she knows that opens up other areas in the game for her teammates.”

Since springing onto the basketball scene, college basketball programs are dying to get their mitts on her talents as she has heard from the top programs in the country including Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Miss State, Alabama, Auburn and many others. Deline sees raw basketball talents mixed with a fun and humorous personality and a competitive spirit second to none in McGhee. “As a coach, I love to witness what she is,” added Deline.

As a sophomore McGhee brings a plate of young talent, but the Lady Jets are more than just the highly touted transfer. Deline added, “The attitude has really changed through the years here as we know how to pick up one another and have that togetherness. We’ve grown a stronger bond each year.”

“I feel God has a plan for me and this team,” said McGhee. “By the time I graduate I feel this program will be good. While I’m here with my friends and we get even closer, we should be pretty good.”