This story appears in SLAM 262. Get your copy here.

We’ve all heard stories of hoopers being discovered from the roots of their cities and finding their paths to the big stage. Their roots remain intact and stretch with them as they reach new heights. Engraved in their games and their names, they hold the heart of their cities.

Wilmington, DE, has raised one of the toughest guards of this generation: Jezelle “GG” Banks. The 5-10 point guard enters her senior year at St. James Academy as one of the nation’s premier prospects. She makes everyone turn their heads by commanding the game as soon as she checks in. With the ball on a string and her smile shining bright, she double crosses and goes tween tween into her pull-up. Then she’s right back on defense, making her opponents sweat and forcing them to play on their toes. Everyone knows GG is always ready to cash in. Her impact, wherever she goes, is undeniable. “I’m going to leave my mark,” Banks says. “I’m going to make sure when I leave the room, you know who I am.”

Banks understands her role as a point guard starts before she crosses the lines of the court. It starts in the locker room. At the top of her class, she’s played all over the country alongside some of the best in the game. Like any great leader, she immediately adapts and finds her will to win, regardless of the circumstances. 

“You’re not just thinking about your defender. You got to think about the defender behind you, on the side. You got to have a coach’s brain,” Banks says of the mentality it takes to lead from the point guard position.

Whether it’s through her leadership, being a voice for her teammates or being a compass for her coaches, she has found the perfect balance of being a great player and an even better teammate. “You never want to make a player feel less than what they are just because they made one mistake,” Banks says.

For GG, leadership isn’t about being the loudest person in the room. It’s about making everyone around her better by holding teammates accountable, while making sure they know you’ve got their back. It’s about asking questions to better understand the task at hand. This is more than what leaders do. This is what winners do. “Good players do the bare minimum. Great players go above and beyond,” she says.

As she heads into her senior year, the world is waiting to hear where she’ll choose to make her next home. LSU, Maryland, South Carolina, Notre Dame—you name it, she’s on their radar. 

“College coaches aren’t recruiting players to change their game. They’re recruiting them to elevate their game and make it better,” Banks says.

Again, she’s looking to do the work to become the best, not just in the gym, but in the country. Finding a place that pushes GG to the next level is important, but finding a family matters just as much. She’s looking for a place she can truly call home because she knows it’s bigger than the name on the front of your jersey. “So to have a coach that will pour into my game and allow me to be comfortable with making mistakes, I feel like that’s a big thing,” she says. “Having a coach that can believe in me, keep confidence in me, and allow me to make any play and run their team.”

For Banks, the next stop isn’t just about where she’ll play. It’s about where she’ll continue to grow. The next jersey she puts on will be another chapter, but it won’t change the foundation that got her there. Wilmington will always be a part of the way she leads, the way she competes and the way she carries herself. The roots never leave. They simply grow deeper.