The Tennessee women's basketball program, currently ranked No. 4/4 in the country and preparing for its season opener with Pennon Friday night, turned its attention to the future Wednesday and announced the addition of two dynamic players on national signing day.
Third-year head coach Holly Warlick and her staff, who already will add talented transfer Diamond DeShields into the mix next fall after a redshirt season, signed 5-foot-8 point guard Te'a (TAY-uh) Cooper of McEachern (mick-EE-churn) High School in Powder Springs, Ga., and 5-11 wing Jamasha (juh-MAY-sha) "MeMe" Jackson of Blackman High in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
All Star Girls Report ranks Cooper No. 7 and Jackson No. 25 nationally. When combining that pair with DeShields, ASGR ranks Tennessee's class at No. 4, standing behind UConn, Louisville and Notre Dame.
Cooper also is rated No. 1 by D1Spects.com, No. 3 by ProspectsNation.com, No. 4 by Full Court, No. 16 by Blue Star and No. 19 by espnW HoopGurlz. Jackson is ranked as high as No. 21 by Blue Star and stands at No. 35 in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100.
"I got Te'a's papers at 7 a.m.this morning, and MeMe's [papers] there shortly to follow, so I'm thrilled," Warlick said. "We went after those two young ladies. We needed some athletic guards, and we got who we wanted. It makes for a great day today.
"They come from two very well-coached high school teams. They are very athletic, as I said, but they are competitive. I think they both hate to lose. They aren't used to losing, and that has to say something about competition. We're all about competition and competing, and I think those two will fit in just perfectly."
Cooper, rated a five-star recruit, was a third-team MaxPreps All-American after a junior season that saw her average 19.6 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks. She led McEachern to a 29-2 record and Georgia 6A state championship in 2014 and also helped the team win one in 2012 as well as a freshman.
The subject of the MTV reality series "True Life" last year, she was named Georgia Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball, Georgia Class 6A All-State First Team, American Family Insurance USA Today All-USA Georgia First Team and Atlanta Tipoff Club Girls Metro Player of the Year among other honors.
"Te'a Cooper is an extremely athletic point guard who, obviously, enjoys playing the game, is quick, fast, very heady," Warlick said. "Great passer, great scorer. I think she's knowledgeable. She's all of a point guard wrapped up into one. I'm obviously excited for her to come to Tennessee."
Also a five-star recruit, Jackson is an athletic wing player who started all 35 games on a squad that won the school's first-ever Tennessee AAA state championship and was ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN, USA Today and MaxPreps. She made the Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State Team and TSSAA State Championship All-Tournament Team.
Additionally, Jackson was voted district MVP, all-district and all-region in an area that is a women's basketball hotbed.
"MeMe Jackson is extremely athletic," Warlick said. "She's hungry. I don't think she has even tapped close to the potential that she has. So athletic and just aggressive.
"[She] loves the game as well. Plays hard, plays fast, great scorer, great defender. I think she could, eventually, be one of our better defenders on our team."
LADY VOL FRESHMAN CLASS OF 2015
Te'a Cooper >> 5-8 >> Point Guard >> Powder Spring, Ga. >> McEachern H.S.
- Ranked No. 1 overall and No. 1 point guard by D1Spects.com
- Ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 point guard by ProspectsNation.com
- Ranked No. 4 by Full Court
- Ranked No. 7 by All Star Girls Report
- Ranked No. 16 by Blue Star
- Ranked No. 19 by espnW HoopGurlz
- Rated as a five-star recruit on that list
- Named to the 2014 USA Basketball Women's U17 World Championship Team but had to withdraw due to illness during training camp
- Participated in the 2013 USA Basketball Women's U16 National Team Trials
- MaxPreps Third-Team All-American (2014)
- Georgia Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball (2014)
- American Family Insurance USA Today All-USA Georgia First Team (2014)
- Georgia Class 6A All-State First Team (2014)
- Atlanta Tipoff Club Girls Metro Player of the Year (2014) & All-Metro Second Team (2013)
- Marietta Daily JournalCobb County Player of the Year (2014)
- MVP of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association's North-South All-Star Game after scoring 39 points and making eight 3-pointers
- Three year-starter who has led her team to Georgia 6A state titles in 2012 (33-0) and 2014 (29-2)
- Averaged 19.6 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 6.0 apg., 5.0 spg. and 1.0 bpg. as a junior
- Averaged 18.5 ppg., 5.0 apg., 4.3 spg. as a sophomore
- Averaged 11.2 ppg., 4.7 apg., 3.0 spg. and shot 65 percent from the field
- Subject of the MTV reality show "True Life"
Jamasha "MeMe" Jackson >> 5-11 >> Guard/Forward >> Murfreesboro, Tenn. >> Blackman H.S.
- Ranked No. 21 by Blue Star
- Ranked No. 25 by All Star Girls Report
- Ranked No. 35 overall and the No. 7 ranked wing in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 Class of 2015
- Rated as a five-star recruit on that list
- Ranked No. 37 overall and the No. 9 wing by ProspectsNation.com
- Ranked No. 39 overall by D1Spects.com
- Tennessee Sportswriters Association All-State Team (2014)
- TSSAA State Championship All-Tournament Team (2014)
- District MVP (2014)
- All-District (2014)
- All-Region (2014)
- Led BHS to a 34-1 record in 2013-14 and a TSSSAA state championship
- Her team was the No. 1-ranked team in the country by ESPN, USA Today and MaxPreps
- Started all 35 games as a junior and averaged 9.4 ppg,. 4.4 rpg., 3.4 apg. and 2.3 spg. on a team featuring five NCAA Division I prospects