To say that East Webster’s Jacob Ginn is familiar with Mississippi College would be an understatement.
His father, Joe, played at Mississippi College in the late 1980s and his mother also graduated from the Clinton college. His grandparents live in Clinton.
That’s why when Mississippi College offered the East Webster sharpshooter an opportunity to play basketball at the school, he jumped at the chance. Ginn recently signed to play with the Choctaws and head coach Don Lofton.
“It has been an interest of mine to play at Mississippi College for about two years now,” Ginn said. “When they decided they wanted me to play, it was a big deal for me. It’s something I have always dreamed of. I promised my dad that I would do whatever it took to play college basketball. I’m overwhelmed with the opportunity.”
Ginn, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, averaged 10 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds a game for the Wolverines last year after transferring from New Albany. The Wolverines went 22-6 last year and won the Division 2-2A regular season championship while Ginn led the team with 79 3-pointers, one of the highest point totals in Class 2A this past season.
The last two summers, Ginn has been playing AAU basketball with a team his father coached. This past summer, Ginn’s team won the AAU state tournament and finished in the Sweet 16 of the AAU national tournament.
“The AAU has really helped me,” Ginn said. “I think AAU is comparable to college basketball and there are a lot of college prospects playing. I think it helped me sharpen my skills and showed me I had the ability to play. I’m just excited to see where I fit in there.”
Ginn did say that he is looking forward to the opportunity to play at MC but also looking forward to a possible redshirt year.
“I would like to redshirt when I get there,” Ginn said. “I would like to get a year of work under my belt and get stronger. I think a year of growth and work would really help me out.”
\Ginn also excels in the classroom where he made a 29 on the ACT, qualifying him for the Presidential scholarship at MC. He plans to major in kinesiology and become a physical therapist.
His father, Jacob, was obviously excited about the opportunity for his son to follow in his footsteps.
“We are very excited about Jacob going to MC and it makes me feel good to know that he will be able to play in the same gym that I played in,” the elder Ginn said. “They have made some improvements from when I played but it’s the same gym. He had an excellent academic package which was worth more than his athletic scholarship would have been. We are just excited for him.”
