The Starkville High Girls Basketball coaching staff will lead the 2025 North Half All-Star Basketball team. Pictured: Coach Kelcia Lufkin, Coach Devonte Stallings and Coach Matt Wilbanks
Starkville High School Girls Basketball Head Coach, Matt Wilbanks, has been selected along with Assistant Coaches Kelcia Bufkin and Devonte Stallings to lead the 5A/6A/7A North Half team for the 2025 Mississippi Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center North/South All-Star Basketball game. The Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) made the announcement last week. The North/South All- Star game will be held on March 15 at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College in Clinton, MS.
"It's a huge honor to be a part of the North/South All-Star game," said Coach Wilbanks. "I've attended the game several times to support my players who were honored as All-Stars or coaching friends. It's even more special to be able to be on the court with Coach Bufkin and Coach Stallings as we lead the team together."
Wilbanks said being selected to coach in the annual game is an honor that is especially rewarding to share with his family.
"Being able to see my wife and kids be excited about the announcement and possibly coming to the game means a lot," he said. "As coaches we spend so much time away from home pouring into players. It's nice to be able to share this with our families."
A girls basketball All-Star game has been played in Mississippi each year since 1965, pitting North versus South, and it continues to serve as an opportunity to promote and support women's athletics and outstanding players. Being selected as part of the All-Star game coaching staff gives honorees an opportunity to see some of the best players in the state up close and work with a variety of students. The Jacket Girls Basketball coaching staff will work with 11th grade students who are selected to participate as All-Stars in the week leading up to the game.
"It's exciting to know that I'll be able to spend a few days with the top juniors in the state as we practice and prepare for the game," said Wilbanks. "It's going to be fun and I look forward to it."
Wilbanks is in his first year as Girls Basketball Head Coach at Starkville High and also serves as Assistant Principal. Prior to joining Yellow Jacket Athletics, he was Head Coach for Girls Basketball at Morton High School. He has more than ten years of coaching experience and was named the Class 4A / Region 5 Coach of the Year in 2024 by the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
Coach Kelcia Bufkin joined the Yellow Jacket staff in July as an Assistant Coach, and Coach Devonte Stallings has served as an Assistant Coach in Starkville for a number of years under former Girls Basketball Head Coach, Kristie Williams.
"This is a well-deserved honor for Matt," said Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent, Dr. Tony McGee. "He is very well-respected in the high school basketball community, and is a proven leader and mentor for students. Our state's best 5A/6A/7A players will learn a lot from his leadership during this All-Star experience."
Player selections for 2025 North/South All-Star game will be announced on January 15, 2025.
