The junior is ready for her first full season as a Hoosier.
Welcome back to Crimson Quarry’s 2024-25 Indiana women’s basketball player preview series. Today, we’re previewing junior forward Sharnecce Currie-Jelks.
The Story So Far
Currie-Jelks transferred to Indiana from Tennessee-Martin a year ago. The Jackson, Tenn., native appeared in three games for the Hoosiers before missing most of last season due to pregnancy.
Before transferring, Currie-Jelks was the 2022-23 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year. She averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 53.9% from the field that season.
Offense
Under-recruited out of high school due to injury, Currie-Jelks was an immediate contributor for UT-Martin.
She was the focal point of the Skyhawks offense and used strong post moves to score 20-plus points in a game seven times in 2022-23. SCJ can play as both a traditional and modern center and has the handles to face up defenders in the midrange.
Currie-Jelks’s best offensive asset is her efficiency. She shoots the ball well.
Indiana was the best shooting team in the country last year and hit 50.4% of its field goal attempts. The Hoosiers got serious value out of each field goal attempt and doing so often made up for possession differentials. Indiana finished 11th in the Big Ten in rebounding but shot its way to 26 wins and a fourth consecutive top-4 NCAA tournament seed.
Currie-Jelks aforementioned 22-23 53.9% field goal clip was third-best in the OVC. She also maximized her trips to the line and made 73.8% of her free throw attempts as a freshman. Indiana needs efficient scorers and a top-of-her-game SCJ is certainly one.
Defense
At 6-2, Currie-Jelks was the tallest player on UT-Martin’s roster and held a size advantage over most OVC opponents.
She used her length to protect the rim as a freshman and finished third in the OVC with 28 blocks. Currie-Jelks was also top-five in the conference in rebounding and pulled down more than two (2.35) offensive boards per game.
Athletically, the jump between the OVC and Big Ten is significant. SCJ will lose some of the matchups she previously won when relying on length. This being her second year with the program is huge, though, and familiarity with Indiana’s defensive scheme will get her on the floor.
Outlook
It stands to reason that fellow junior Lilly Meister and senior Tennessee transfer Karoline Striplin, two known commodities, slot ahead of SCJ on the depth chart.
Indiana just lost one of the nation’s best post players to graduation, though, so forwards being used in new ways cannot be ruled out. SCJ will make the rotation if she continues to rebound well and converts on the looks she gets.