Denim DeShields talks family pedigree, joining Mississippi State and expectations

Mississippi State went heavy in the transfer portal for the 2024-25 women’s basketball season and coach Sam Purcell is hoping that he’s struck gold with his new roster.

UAB point guard transfer Denim DeShields is one of those transfers and is coming off of back-to-back season with the Blazers in which she earned All-Conference honors with 13.2 points per game in two seasons and 5.0 assists a game.

The most interesting note about DeShields, however, is her family tree. Father Delino was a veteran in the MLB and played for five different organizations over a strong 13-year career. Her mother, Tisha, was an All-American track star at the University of Tennessee, her sister was a Lady Volunteer basketball standout and is playing ball in the WNBA and one of her brothers is a former top 10 baseball draft pick.

DeShields discussed her family history, why she chose to transfer to State and a whole lot more in a one-on-one interview with Maroon and White Daily.

Q: First things first: how competitive was it growing up in the DeShields’ household?

DD: “Everything is a competition – even the small things. It can be the tiniest thing like who can get up the stairs the fastest. You find joy in the smallest things. We all had super crazy schedules and the time that we get to spend together you can see those competitive spirits come into play.”

Q: Who was the most influential person in your family in the development of you as an athlete?

DD: “I definitely think that my sister is the most influential. As a younger sister, your older sister is who you look to as an example or a role model. Having the guidance and influence of everyone has come into play in my life journey. Always having people to call on that have had your same experience and know what you’re going through has been key for me.”

Q: How much did you lean on your sister through this process?

DD: “She was a key concept during this transition. She was able to be very present because it was before her season started. She was able to be on a few visits and called on her teammates about their thoughts on the school and coach Sam. Her having those connections really helped me throughout the process.”

Q: Having a person like Victoria Vivians on this staff who is still playing basketball at a high level, how excited are you for that?

DD: “I think it will be really helpful. Just having someone that can relate to you and who is closer to our generation is really important. I know that it’s a long season and there’s a lot of mixed emotions that come in as games go on, so to have someone like that in our program will be really helpful.”

Q: What was it about Mississippi State that made you feel like you wanted to be here?

DD: “Coming from UAB, I knew what I wanted out of my next school. I didn’t put my phone number in the portal because I wanted to be selective on who I spoke to. I know that it can be an overwhelming process when you know that everyone has access to reach out. It was a good experience for me and I didn’t take too many visits.

“For Mississippi State, it was all about the persistence of them. Obviously, you want to go somewhere where you’re truly wanted and valued and I got that from this staff. I’ve had a few encounters with coach Sam throughout my basketball career. Not necessarily with him recruiting me, but going to Louisville camps when I was younger and seeing him around during AAU and stuff.

“It was a familiarity that I had with them. It felt natural and like these are the people that I wanted to be guided by and seek council from, be coached by. That was a big piece as to why I chose Mississippi State.”

Q: What are you bringing to the table with this team and how well are you meshing with the players?

DD: “I think I bring positivity. I think I bring leadership but not necessarily in a vocal way. I’m big on getting to know everybody and actually paying attention to details about people which is very important as time goes on. I believe that if you feel seen and feel heard, you’re more likely to open up and give your all to those people. Just being able to build relationships with everybody and keep everybody together outside of basketball is something that I bring to this team.”

Q: What is the chemistry like with this team so far?

DD: “I think it’s been great. From an outside perspective, you wouldn’t be able to guess that we have a totally new team. Everybody has been intentional about building relationships, hanging out with each other and spending time getting to know each other. Everything that we’ve done team building wise has been on our own accord. We’ve taken initiative to build relationships with each other and everything has been natural.”

Q: Are you excited to play with Jerkaila Jordan this year?

DD: “Definitely. We actually scrimmaged against them last year and I got a chance to play against her. She’s a dog. It’s an experience getting to play with somebody like that and you will have to rise to the occasion because she’s such a great example for everybody every day. I’m really excited to take on the season with her and our team.”

Q: What will teams say about Mississippi State after they finish playing them this year?

DD: “I think our identity is going to be a team that will never quit. We’re obviously going to be playing the best of the best and it’s not going to be easy. But as a collective, we won’t back down from anybody no matter who they are. That’s something that every team will walk away with that they might have counted us out, but we didn’t stoop to that level. We rose to the occasion and gave it everything that we had.”