Redan High girls pursue title with first-year coach

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By Michael Carvell

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Jerry Jackson's first head coaching job is about as high-profile as it gets in the state's high school ranks.

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First-year coach Jerry Jackson (center) guides the Redan girls, who are the defending state champions, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA.

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com First-year coach Jerry Jackson (center) guides the Redan girls, who are the defending state champions, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA.

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Jackson guides the Redan girls, who are the defending state champions, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA and registered their 50th consecutive win with a 71-46 decision over archrival Stephenson on Tuesday. The Raiders also are ranked No. 6 in the nation by USA Today.

It was another good day at the office for Jackson, who has the Stone Mountain school off to a 23-0 start this season.

"Yes, 50 in a row, that's great, but we're thinking about the ultimate goal at the end of the year, another state championship," Jackson said. "The 50 wins are great, but we're focused on the next 10 games or so because they are the ones we need to accomplish our goals."

Kierra Paige had a game-high 25 points for Redan, while teammate Aneesah Daniels scored 19. Stephenson, which had one of its worst performances of the season, was led by Danielle Jackson with 12 points.

"We just weren't ready to play," Stephenson coach Dennis Watkins said. "They came out, and they outworked us. [Redan] has an excellent team. What else can you say? They're really good, the best team I've seen so far in Georgia -- by far -- this year."

Watching Tuesday's game from the stands was Rhonda Malone, who built Redan's heralded program. The school's longtime coach, she retired after leading the Raiders to last year's championship and still teaches at the school.

Redan principal Greg Goodwin had more than 30 applicants for the job, but decided to promote Jackson, 32, who had been Malone's assistant for two seasons.

"I wasn't trying to stay within the program. I thought [Jackson] was the best man for the job," Goodwin said. "The only negative thing people could say about him was that he didn't have any head coaching experience.

"Well, someone had to give me a chance in 1988 for my first head coaching job [as Redan's baseball coach]. So I couldn't knock Jackson for that. You've got to start somewhere, and [Jackson] is a coach who has been along for the ride with this team and was going to continue challenging them."

How is Redan different under the new coach? "Not much at all ... To me, they are really about the same," Watkins said. "They were a little younger last year. Now they have played together for another year and are more mature on the court. They play with a lot of confidence."

Redan players say there haven't been any major changes with the offensive or defensive schemes. Jackson told the search committee he wasn't going to fix something that wasn't broken.

"I was here, and I didn't want to see the program go through a big transition with big changes," he said. "We all miss Coach Malone, but the show has to go on. I didn't want somebody new coming in, who didn't know the kids, and who wanted to change everything around that had made us so successful."

Of course, Jackson's debut has been boosted by one of the state's most star-studded rosters. Senior Nia Evans has signed with Virginia Tech, while Paige and Daniels are rated as two of the nation's top juniors. The 6-foot Daniels has early offers from Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and Louisville, among others.

"When we played united like we did [against Stephenson], we feel like no one can beat us," Daniels said. "Our goal is not only to be state champions, but national champions."

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