A Starkville "Dandy" gets her Due

Affectionately known as "Big Z" to the Jacket faithful, Zariyah Edwards has a heart and personality that are just as big as her presence on the basketball court. I found that out from the moment I sat down with the senior Starkville High School power forward. And now, she's added to her list of accolades, taking a "big" statewide honor into the start of this season's division play.

In early December, Zariyah was named to the annual Girls Basketball "Dandy Dozen" list for the 2024-2025 season. The Dandy Dozen is a recruitment-centered list of the top twelve high school players in Mississippi presented by the Clarion Ledger, the state's largest newspaper. Honorees are selected based on input from sports media and basketball recruiting reporters, along with player stats, in-game observations and individual performance. Most who have followed "Z" over the last four years agree the honor has been a long time coming, and I wanted to find out her reaction.

Juggling class exemptions for "senior privilege" and a hefty practice schedule, Zariyah rushed into the Starkville High Gym with a big smile for our interview and ushered me downstairs to the girls locker room. We were scheduled to talk ahead of that afternoon's basketball practice, and she was running behind because of a few school responsibilities. 

Over the next half-hour, we talked about the Dandy Dozen honor, her mindset for basketball and how she feels about her experiences at Starkville High School. The infectious laughter that punctuated our talk let me know that Z's larger-than-life personality squarely matches her 6-foot frame on the court. I asked her what being named to the Dandy Dozen means to her.

"People walk up to me saying, 'hey Dandy', but I've only been a "Dandy" for a day!" Zariyah shrugged and laughed with a combination of charm, humility and self-aware enthusiasm that draws people in. It's not hard to understand why her coach describes Z as someone who makes everyone around her better –– both on and off the court.

"She's a joy to be around," says Matt Wilbanks, Head Basketball Coach for the Lady Jackets, now halfway through his first season in Starkville. "I'm extremely happy for and proud of Zariyah for making the Dandy Dozen list. It is a prestigious honor that she will always be able to have her name a part of. She is the first Dandy Dozen player I have ever coached, and it is a huge blessing and honor to be able to coach a player of her caliber each day."

The bond between the award-winning coach and the senior standout has been hard-fought. Both players and administrators admit that the first meeting back in March between Coach Wilbanks and the SHS girls team was quiet –– even stark. The team was devoted to longtime Lady Jacket Coach, Kristie Williams, who retired from coaching at the end of last season, and following up that legacy with solid relationship-building can take time. Coach Wilbanks won them over, however, and Zariyah's leadership was a big part of that step forward.

"I'm going to be honest," Zariyah says. "When Wilbanks first got here, he was a 'no' for me." 

She explains that the thought of changing coaches from those she had always worked with was hard. But, that kind of change is part of the game, and Coach Wilbanks made an effort at a crucial time for Zariyah, which changed the story.

"I played in the All-Star game last year, and Coach was there watching a former player," Z shared. "So, he sat down, and we talked."

It was a conversation that made a big difference for Z, and she told him she would be open to what he wanted to do. That was the first step in a relationship that Zariyah credits with improving her game in ways she didn't expect.

"He's brought endless things to my game," Z says. "I'm in such great shape. We work on post moves all the time, and I'm actually mastering them. He's also a good person to lean on. After games, he tells us he would rather be in OUR locker room than anywhere else, and that means a lot."

"I'm glad that she is getting the recognition she deserves," Coach Wilbanks shares, "even though she doesn't like for us to make a big deal about it. She's a huge part of our team and has been a big part of the Lady Jackets' success throughout her entire career. She is well deserving of everything that comes her way!"

That's a common sentiment. It's hard not to pull for Z to get her due, but as a four-year starter, she's learned to take that in stride and stay humble. For the 2023-2024 season, Yellow Jacket standout Tootie Lockhart was named to the Dandy Dozen, but Zariyah was not. She admits to being disappointed, and says she thought maybe the opportunity for the elite honor had passed her by. 

"When I didn't make the list last year, I didn't really bank on making it this year. It was kind of like –– you make it; you don't make it? Just so I wouldn't get my hopes up."

On December 5, when the 2024-2025 list was released, Zariyah got a call at 7:00am from her grandmother, who shared the news. 

"I said 'Grandma, what are you doing? It's 7 in the morning?' because I was asleep," Zariyah explains. "But she was like 'Did you see it? Did you see it?' So when I saw the video of me being a Dandy, all I could say was 'I did it!'"

But the shift in mindset, and the expectations that come from such an honor are not lost on the Starkville senior.

"It was kind of like an everyone was counting me out kind of thing," Zariyah shares about not making the Dozen last season. "And it's easy to question yourself. But teams make plays just to stop me, so I had to be some type of threat, you know?"

Now that she has been named into the elite Dandy Dozen club, Z says she can feel the target on her back from other teams. In the Starkville locker room, the coaching staff designs defensive or offensive approaches based on what they know about opposing players –– the best players. With an almost apologetic resignation, Zariyah told me she's that player in other locker rooms.

The realization isn't bravado. It's fact. Through fifteen games this season, Zariyah has averaged more than 15 points and 9 rebounds per game, plus at least one assist and one block. 

Z used the snub on the Dozen last year as motivation to improve her game.

"I had to bring what was in me out of me," she says. "Last year, I would not put the ball on the floor to save my life. I wouldn't dribble, and I knew I had to change that. I didn't really train any extra, but when I did train, it was 'get it and go, get it and go.'"

She also credits her leadership role as a senior on the team as part of what motivated her to improve multiple areas of her game. While in past years she could look up to older players as a way to inspire changes in her own game, this year, she's the senior. And, the responsibility of her role as a four-year starter is a daily reality for Zariyah.

"I've been a varsity starter since I was a freshman," she says. "So I've always considered starting as a leader type of role."

As she settled into being a starter as a young 9th grader, Zariyah says she patterned her approach to working with other players and being a leader after one of the upper classmen on those early teams –– SHS graduate Je'niecia Hill.

"She was a great leader and she helped me," Zariyah remembers. "She talked me through being new on the team. She still comes around today, and we still talk."

Zariyah has experienced that being a leader can be hard. 

"People want you to live up to these expectations," she says. But Z shares that she's probably hardest on herself. 

"There's nobody perfect, but I want to be as close to perfect as possible. That's what I try to do as a leader, mostly help out the younger people on my team and try to build them up for next year."

I asked Z how she keeps herself in the right headspace to lead and perform on the court.

"I've gotten better at staying in the game and not letting mistakes from several plays ago impact the next play," she says. "When I'm messing up, I'm messing up things I can fix. Once it's fixed, it's over. I try to keep my mind steady during a game. Our coaches and teammates are a big part of that. Have you ever seen our bench? They are amazing and loud, and that's a big part of keeping my head where it needs to be and balanced."

Balance is something that Zariyah knows well. As a two-sport varsity athlete in Basketball and Volleyball, she is well-schooled in juggling practice schedules, game demands and studies. For the last two years, Z has been named to the Phenom Watch List by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, a national honor.

Because she is taking dual credit courses this year, Zariyah says her studies also require a little more work, but she says she just has to "get it done." It's clear that the gameday mentality has served her well off the court as well as on, and her ability to focus on each sport in its season has helped to make the juggling easier.

Her approach goes back to training and mindset.

"When I first started practicing on the varsity team as a 9th grader, I went home and cried because I didn't think I could do it," Zariyah admits. "But even when it's hard and the going gets tough, you just keep going! All of it will pay off in the end."

And that's the advice she has for younger players... "Just keep going."

"I know it can be scary coming in with a lot of new faces," she says. "I was terrified to mess up. But we have good teammates. You don't sweat messing up on something you've never done before. Just keep going."

Big Z describes the relationship that exists with her teammates as more like a big family than just a basketball team. She calls it a "sisterhood" where they hold each other accountable, but are also protective of each other.

"We're a family," she says, "and we all just happen to know how to play basketball too. We've put in the work together. We have a good bond with all our coaches and they hold us accountable too."

That bond with the mentors and leaders doesn't stop with coaches, Zariyah says. The relationships she's built with teachers at Starkville High are part of what she feels makes the school a great place to be –– and something she will miss after graduation.

"Starkville High has been kind of the perfect representation of high school," she says. "It may seem weird to say, but it's really homey. You can knock on any teacher's door and talk to them. They're going to help you, even if it's not about class. When you create a bond or a relationship with a teacher here, they have taught me life lessons that I'll be able to take with me. And the memories I've created are endless."

She leaned forward with a huge smile and her typically good-natured trash talk to say "And we're good at sports too, unlike some schools –– not throwing out any names."

I asked a final question before Zariyah had to go –– if she had any shoutouts she wanted to share with our audience?

With a mischievous laugh, she tapped her temple and said "Shoutout to the person who decided the Dandy list –– you finally clicked." But she quickly turned thoughtful as she thanked her family and coaches for how they have always supported her, and her teammates. 

"I love you guys," she sighed.

Getting up for practice after our time of smiles, laughter and basketball talk, Z had one more thought to share. 

"I'm grateful. For everybody who has helped me get to the position I'm in now," she said. "I'm just really thankful and blessed to have all these accomplishments coming and the recognition I'm getting."

Indeed. As the remainder of the basketball season looms along with decisions about college and upwards of 13 offers to play at the next level, with "Big Z" and her big heart, it's good to see this Starkville "Dandy" finally get her due.