The No. 9 Eufaula Lady Ironheads’ 2019-20 magical season stalled out as the OSSAA suspended the state tournament 90 minutes before Eufaula (25-4) was poised to tip off against No. 2 Jones. It was the first time since 1993 for Eufaula to make the state tournament on a team that featured Shasti James. James is the mother of Eufaula senior basketball standout Jouni James and both wore the No. 11 jersey. It will be a fact that both will share and cherish for the rest of their lives.
The No. 9 Eufaula Lady Ironheads’ 2019-20 magical season stalled out as the OSSAA suspended the state tournament 90 minutes before Eufaula (25-4) was poised to tip off against No. 2 Jones. It was the first time since 1993 for Eufaula to make the state tournament on a team that featured Shasti James. James is the mother of Eufaula senior basketball standout Jouni James and both wore the No. 11 jersey. It will be a fact that both will share and cherish for the rest of their lives.
Both played for great coaches in Jeff Oliver for Journi and Ron McGuire for Shasti and the skill level and opportunity to play at the next level.
“From mom’s perspective, I’m not sure that words can adequately describe the excitement and pure joy of watching your child and her teammates achieve a childhood dream right before your very eyes. It still seems so surreal. This was literally one of the most special moments that I’ve ever experienced as a parent. When she was born, I was coaching, and we often discussed and faithfully attended the State Tournament in hopes of planting that seed and one day getting to experience it for herself. She played a little at Stidham when she was enrolled in their 3- and 4-year old programs; but, it was in the first grade that we decided to see if any of her classmates were interested in playing, and we took a team to the Stigler League. We played in various leagues and tournaments through 6th grade, and I had the opportunity to coach both their 4th and 5th grade school seasons at EES as well,” Shasti James said.
“Because of her dad’s and my personal experiences and memories in sports from little league through college and even into our time spent coaching, we wanted her as well as our boys to have those same opportunities if they were interested. But, we’ve tried to be balanced, as we realize it’s certainly not the most important thing in this world. I think that’s another reason this is so special. We wanted her and the boys to thoroughly enjoy their childhood, so we had to make some tough parenting decisions along the way for how much we were willing to let them do with little league sports growing up…like how much was too much, etc. We wanted to be smart, and it’s not easy in this day and time. We tried hard to stay within the boundaries we set, and God has been faithful to bless, especially in this very special senior season. The road to the State Tournament is not easy and certainly never a guarantee. Several things have to fall into place to be one of the eight that get in. “Peaking” at the right time is huge, but so is having a little bit of extra favor along the way.
I personally grew up dreaming of the State Tournament. I always wanted to play in “The Big House!” I started playing school ball in the 5th grade, and every summer I would help Coach Pam Jennings and Coach Susie Ragan at the Boys and Girls Club in McAlester as a student helper during their fundamental camps. It was there when I really worked on perfecting those fundamental skills, especially shooting and ball-handling, and developed a true passion for the game. My passion continued to grow, and it was in 1993 that my dream finally came true. I was a sophomore, and Coach Ron McGuire was hired as our head coach. We still played 6-on-6 then, and actually, we played 6-on-6 all the way through my senior season in 1995, which was Oklahoma’s last year to participate. Coach McGuire was also a master of the fundamentals as well as teaching me creative ways to score, and once he would teach me a new move, I worked to perfect it. But, my sophomore year, the year we made the State Tournament, I played on the defensive end as a guard. My junior year, I moved to the forward end but split time as needed on both ends of the floor. Then, my senior year, 1995, I spent most of my time on the forward end.
When I left high school, I went on to play two years at Seminole State College. I was still very hungry for the game, so it was a blast. We made the National Tournament my sophomore year there which was a huge accomplishment and certainly not an easy feat within our Region at the time. I moved on from Seminole to finish up at Southeastern Oklahoma State University which was also a special time. We made the National Tournament there my junior year and enjoyed a very successful senior year as well.
I don’t know what the rest of this year holds for our girls, but I can promise you that we’re not giving up hope that they will have the opportunity to finish what they’ve started. I told Journi that they “One-Upped” me this time because our first game in the State Tournament was played in Midwest City’s gym, and their first game is actually the first scheduled game in “The Big House!” I’ve continued to say that it’s not very often that you have a group of seven girls who stick it out to the end and finish their senior season. That in itself has been special, and I wanted so badly to see them pull it out, and they did. I’ve watched the Roland game several times now, and it just gets sweeter with time. I’m forever grateful that God allowed me to have a special part in this season of their lives, and I’ll continue to pray for their chance to play in The Big House; but, I’ll never forget that night and how I got to witness their dream finally come true,” Shasti James added.
Journi has made a huge impact on her team. The senior possesses great leadership skills and has the skill level to play every position. She always represented Eufaula with class and treated others with respect.
“Anyone who knows me and my team knows how long we’ve been together. Mom’s been with us since the beginning, coaching us, cheering us on, and loving our entire team like they were all her own. We’ve dreamed of the State Tournament since first grade and because she knew how great of a feeling it was, she wanted it for us almost as badly as we wanted it for ourselves. Making this dream come true meant the world to all of us,” Journi James said.
Journi’s mirror image of her mother doesn’t end at the high school level. Shasti had a remarkable college career. Shasti had a great career at both Seminole State and Southeastern Oklahoma State University where she met her future husband Preston, a baseball player who won the NCAA D-II World Series.
As a senior Shasti led Class 3A in scoring with 28 points per game and shot 49% from 3-point range.
Journi is currently exploring her options to extend her career to the collegiate level as well as to consider her current academic scholarship offers to propel her into a future career in the medical field as a dermatologist.
