Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: @MTAthletics
“Who wouldn’t trust her?” — Gregory makes an early impression in her MT career
1/5/2022 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The freshman guard has made an immediate impact on the Lady Raider program
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It didn't take long for Middle Tennessee to get to know Jalynn Gregory. In the Lady Raiders opening two exhibitions, she was the only freshman to crack the starting lineup for coach Rick Insell, and led the team in scoring on both nights in the Murphy Center. She finished the preseason with 48 points over two games, with a high motor on the defensive end that clearly showed why Insell trusted the freshman so early in her career.
Or, as the head coach put things more succinctly at the time: "She defends. She rebounds. She shoots! I mean, who wouldn't trust her?"
But it was the final pregame tuneup, when Gregory dropped 32 points and eight rebounds in an exhibition over NAIA UT Southern, that really put Gregory on the map in Murfreesboro. The Lafayette, Tenn. native was deferential after her performance, thanking her teammates for getting her through the rough spots of the summer when she struggled to adjust to the pace of the college game.
Her teammate, Courtney Whitson, however, wouldn't let the humble words of her teammate stand alone, and in the process gave the world a glimpse into what drives Jalynn Gregory.
"Let me say something about Jalynn," Whitson said, literally stealing the microphone from her teammate during the postgame press conference. "Jalynn is humble and she's a hard worker. And you see that not just in Jalynn, but in all of our freshmen. That will carry over in our chemistry (this year). And I want to make that point, because it's important having that in a team, just having humble, hard working people. That's what wins championships."
The moment quickly spread out across Twitter, even getting posted by the official NCAA Women's Basketball account. A nice recognition of the program Middle Tennessee wants to be, and how players like Gregory make that possible.
"If there was one great thing that happened during COVID, it was getting Jalynn Gregory to Middle Tennessee," assistant coach Matt Insell said.
The reigning TSSAA Class AA State Tournament MVP has made her mark early in her Lady Raider career, starting all 12 games for MT to open the season after winning the state title at Macon County her senior year on the Murphy Center court. Gregory is averaging 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game starting on the wing for Rick Insell.
Her early success is not a surprise to those who watched her as the starting point guard for the Tigers. Many of the traits Gregory has flashed for the Lady Raiders — lockdown perimeter defending, long-range shooting and the ability to drive to the hoop — are exactly the same traits she had in high school.
"Does it surprise me? Absolutely not," Rick Insell said after Middle Tennessee's win over Southern Illinois, when Gregory led the team with 27 points. "She's a winner who wants to take the big shot and her teammates have confidence in her."
It wasn't the easiest path to get Gregory to Murfreesboro. She was initially committed to UT Martin during the first stage of her recruiting process, but decommitted shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown women's basketball in 2020.
"It was very hectic," Gregory said, saying decommitting was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. "I was getting phone calls left and right, but I knew where I wanted to go."
For Matt Insell's part, who took point as the primary recruiter on staff for Gregory, pulling in someone with her skillset was a no brainer. The defense and drive on court was evident. The fact that their team was losing some good shooters, and Gregory had halfcourt logo range with her own shot, didn't hurt matters either.
But mostly, Insell said, the Lady Raiders wanted Gregory because she came from a winning program at Macon County, and was a huge part of that program's success. Which made her work overcoming obstacles early in her Lady Raider career not the least bit surprising.
As Gregory said after that UT Southern game, she felt the pressure of the college game hit her almost immediately after stepping on campus.
"It was definitely the change of pace in the beginning," Gregory said of the speed of the game. "Then just having to be with a whole different team, learning your role on the team. It was literally, completely different from what I was used to in high school."
A point guard in high school, Insell moved Gregory over to two and three in his offense. But that change, alongside adjusting to the faster speed, left her often behind where her teammates were, and struggling to execute the concepts the coaches wanted. In other words, Matt Insell said Gregory "was not doing what she's doing now."
It got to the point where the younger Insell got on her hard one day after a summer practice. To the point where he wondered how the freshman might respond.
"That day after practice, one of three things was going to happen, she's either going to quit, her dad's going to call me upset, or she's going to show up the next day saying 'I'm going to show him and I'm going to be special.'"
"I'm glad she took the third one."
Why did Gregory turn the page so quickly after that moment? The same reasons she's been successful her whole life: hard work and humility. And willingness to learn. The result?
"I really just got comfortable," Gregory said. "In high school, I ran the point, so the ball was always in my hands. And now, I moved to the two and three, and it just allows me to play better because I never really enjoyed being the point guard, I was just put in that position because I had to be."
Now, Gregory is one of the key cogs on a team primed to defend their C-USA Tournament title this season, and has been a big reason why the team has stayed near to the top of the NET ratings among their C-USA peers all season long. But after a tough loss at UTEP last Saturday, Gregory knows she and her teammates have put in the work, as they always have, to correct the mistakes.
"We had some moments in that last game that we definitely need to work on," Gregory said. "And that's really what we've been doing this week, just focusing on the little things so we can become a better team."
Or, as the head coach put things more succinctly at the time: "She defends. She rebounds. She shoots! I mean, who wouldn't trust her?"
But it was the final pregame tuneup, when Gregory dropped 32 points and eight rebounds in an exhibition over NAIA UT Southern, that really put Gregory on the map in Murfreesboro. The Lafayette, Tenn. native was deferential after her performance, thanking her teammates for getting her through the rough spots of the summer when she struggled to adjust to the pace of the college game.
Her teammate, Courtney Whitson, however, wouldn't let the humble words of her teammate stand alone, and in the process gave the world a glimpse into what drives Jalynn Gregory.
"Let me say something about Jalynn," Whitson said, literally stealing the microphone from her teammate during the postgame press conference. "Jalynn is humble and she's a hard worker. And you see that not just in Jalynn, but in all of our freshmen. That will carry over in our chemistry (this year). And I want to make that point, because it's important having that in a team, just having humble, hard working people. That's what wins championships."
Get you a teammate and hype woman like @WhitsonCourtney pic.twitter.com/yX16zOB5gu
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) November 5, 2021
The moment quickly spread out across Twitter, even getting posted by the official NCAA Women's Basketball account. A nice recognition of the program Middle Tennessee wants to be, and how players like Gregory make that possible.
"If there was one great thing that happened during COVID, it was getting Jalynn Gregory to Middle Tennessee," assistant coach Matt Insell said.
The reigning TSSAA Class AA State Tournament MVP has made her mark early in her Lady Raider career, starting all 12 games for MT to open the season after winning the state title at Macon County her senior year on the Murphy Center court. Gregory is averaging 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals a game starting on the wing for Rick Insell.
Her early success is not a surprise to those who watched her as the starting point guard for the Tigers. Many of the traits Gregory has flashed for the Lady Raiders — lockdown perimeter defending, long-range shooting and the ability to drive to the hoop — are exactly the same traits she had in high school.
"Does it surprise me? Absolutely not," Rick Insell said after Middle Tennessee's win over Southern Illinois, when Gregory led the team with 27 points. "She's a winner who wants to take the big shot and her teammates have confidence in her."
It wasn't the easiest path to get Gregory to Murfreesboro. She was initially committed to UT Martin during the first stage of her recruiting process, but decommitted shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown women's basketball in 2020.
"It was very hectic," Gregory said, saying decommitting was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. "I was getting phone calls left and right, but I knew where I wanted to go."
For Matt Insell's part, who took point as the primary recruiter on staff for Gregory, pulling in someone with her skillset was a no brainer. The defense and drive on court was evident. The fact that their team was losing some good shooters, and Gregory had halfcourt logo range with her own shot, didn't hurt matters either.
But mostly, Insell said, the Lady Raiders wanted Gregory because she came from a winning program at Macon County, and was a huge part of that program's success. Which made her work overcoming obstacles early in her Lady Raider career not the least bit surprising.
As Gregory said after that UT Southern game, she felt the pressure of the college game hit her almost immediately after stepping on campus.
"It was definitely the change of pace in the beginning," Gregory said of the speed of the game. "Then just having to be with a whole different team, learning your role on the team. It was literally, completely different from what I was used to in high school."
A point guard in high school, Insell moved Gregory over to two and three in his offense. But that change, alongside adjusting to the faster speed, left her often behind where her teammates were, and struggling to execute the concepts the coaches wanted. In other words, Matt Insell said Gregory "was not doing what she's doing now."
It got to the point where the younger Insell got on her hard one day after a summer practice. To the point where he wondered how the freshman might respond.
"That day after practice, one of three things was going to happen, she's either going to quit, her dad's going to call me upset, or she's going to show up the next day saying 'I'm going to show him and I'm going to be special.'"
"I'm glad she took the third one."
Why did Gregory turn the page so quickly after that moment? The same reasons she's been successful her whole life: hard work and humility. And willingness to learn. The result?
"I really just got comfortable," Gregory said. "In high school, I ran the point, so the ball was always in my hands. And now, I moved to the two and three, and it just allows me to play better because I never really enjoyed being the point guard, I was just put in that position because I had to be."
Now, Gregory is one of the key cogs on a team primed to defend their C-USA Tournament title this season, and has been a big reason why the team has stayed near to the top of the NET ratings among their C-USA peers all season long. But after a tough loss at UTEP last Saturday, Gregory knows she and her teammates have put in the work, as they always have, to correct the mistakes.
"We had some moments in that last game that we definitely need to work on," Gregory said. "And that's really what we've been doing this week, just focusing on the little things so we can become a better team."
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