All-time leading scorer, ‘cornerstone’ of South Pointe basketball signs to UNC Asheville
Jamia Blake said she came into Rock Hill’s South Pointe High School as a freshman determined to be “one of the top athletes to ever come” through there — a lofty goal considering the legacy of college athletes the school has seen since its inaugural year in 2005.
Four years later, it’s safe to say she’s done that.
Blake signed to play women’s basketball at UNC Asheville last weekend, the latest accomplishment in Blake’s decorated career. Blake, a four-year varsity Stallion, is the school’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals, per the school. She’s also a two-time all-state selection, four-time all-region selection and a two-time All-Herald first team pick.
“I was able to leave behind some records,” Blake told The Herald via phone interview, “that will probably be there for a little (while).”
Blake helped build a winning program at South Pointe. When she arrived in 2016, the team went 6-15 and 1-9 in region. Two years later, the team won its first-ever Upper State title and made its first state championship appearance.
And in her senior season, South Pointe made it to the state title game again.
“She’s a cornerstone of what we’ve tried to build here,” South Pointe head coach Stephanie Butler-Graham said of Blake after her team’s loss in the state championship game in March, where Blake was one point away from a triple-double. “We’ll go as she goes, you know? And that’s a tremendous amount of pressure, honestly, to have on your shoulders. I think she bore that burden well. …
“She cemented herself in South Pointe girls’ basketball history. And I’m not sure if anyone will catch her.”
Blake was the fastest player to score more than 1,000 points in South Pointe history. This year, Johnson C. Smith University signee and fellow senior Randi Neal also joined that list.
Blake, Neal and others in the program have been instrumental in making the girls’ basketball team important to South Pointe — as was evidenced by the nearly sold-out crowd at South Pointe’s final home game of the 2019-20 season.
“We’ve always been a football school, and football kind of ended early, and a lot of football players and the school supported us,” Blake said. “I guess we’re up next for the ‘team of the school,’ you know?”
Blake said she chose UNC Asheville — over several other schools, including Furman, East Carolina, USC Upstate and Winthrop — in part because it reminded her of South Pointe’s “winning culture.” Blake said she’ll be playing more off the ball when she first arrives at UNC Asheville, but she’s also excited about proving herself as a point guard in college.
“What I love about Jamia is her versatility,” said UNC Asheville head women’s basketball coach Honey Brown in a statement last weekend. “She has played multiple guard positions over her high school and AAU career. Jamia can score in multiple ways, which allowed her to become the all-time leading scorer at South Pointe. Our players will enjoy playing with Jamia because she sees the floor and can find the open person. We are looking forward to getting her to Asheville!”
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