Mom is always right.
Not that Gloucester Catholic High School senior Jahzara Green doesn’t have plenty of sources for advice about basketball, or sports in general.
Her father, Jamaal Green, was a national college football champion at the University of Miami in 2001 before playing professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins. Her brother, Jahaan Green, was a standout basketball star at Camden Eastside High School and is now playing at the United States Military Academy West Point.
But it’s the advice from her mother, Nailah (Wallace) Green – who played college basketball at North Carolina State and Fordham University – that makes the most impact.
“She is just so knowledgeable about how to eat and how to work out, and lifting,” Jahzara said. “On the court, she’s knowledgeable, too, but she knows so much about everything that goes into the game of basketball. She’s very helpful.”
The advice is clearly working.
After bursting onto the scene as a freshman and scoring 342 points (a 13.2 average), Jahzara Green posted back-to-back 500-plus-point seasons to race up the prestigious Gloucester Catholic scoring list. She easily became the 19th female in school history to reach 1,000 career points, and she’s aiming to become just the third to reach 2,000.
Through her first five games of the season, Green stood at 1,510 points and was seventh on the school scoring list. Her next targets are Azana Baines (1,751), Kristin Quinn (1,795), Cheryl Kulesa (1,897) and Mary Gedaka (1,899), who is the daughter of head coach Lisa Gedaka. Only Lisa (Angelotti) Gedaka (2,035) and Lisa Cermignano (2,038) have reached 2,000.
“I know I can get close to 2,000 and close to the record up there,” said Green, who is committed to play at Saint Joseph’s University next season. “But the main thing is to win the games. Whatever comes with that, I’ll be grateful either way.”
Green and Gedaka are certainly on the same page when it comes to a team-first strategy. The Rams reached the Non-Public B state championship last year during a 26-5 season. They return all five starters for another run at glory this year.
“I said to the kids that you play the game to win,” said Gedaka, who is the all-time leader in coaching wins in South Jersey girls basketball. “Whatever it takes, whether you score zero points or 30 points, it’s about getting the win. If something like (scoring records) happen, great, but it’s not something that I strategically say she needs X-amount of points. I don’t do that.”
After Gloucester Catholic lost to the now-closed Immaculate Conception High School, Montclair, in the state championship game in March, Green spent the last eight months getting stronger with her teammates.
“Over the summer, we really focused on lifting and my agility,” Green said. “We had morning training that I do with my teammates Talia (Shumate) and Jalyn (Moore). After we lift, we’ll go on the track. It’s a little bit of everything just to keep myself getting stronger.”
The Rams suffered an opening night hiccup against Philadelphia Catholic League power Archbishop Carroll in overtime on Dec. 17, but reeled off four straight double-digit victories to close out 2025. Green was just happy to be back doing what she loves with teammates she trusts.
“I think we are all excited,” Green said. “We had a lot of nerves to open the season, but mainly we were just excited to start the season and get back on the floor. I think this team is very special. We return all of our starters. Defensively, I think we can make a lot of things happen. Offensively, we have to clean up some things but I think we’ll be alright.”
With Green leading the way, it could be a very special season.
“She’s been one of the top players that I’ve been able to coach,” Gedaka said. “From when she came in as a freshman until now, her growth has been amazing. She’s learned how to play hard defensively. She’s a great game stopper and has just really worked hard to be the player that she is right now.”
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