As if her resume wasn’t already sufficient, Rickea Jackson submitted a whopper of a final entry to the WNBA for consideration as a lottery pick next month.
The case for her draft stock closed with Tennessee’s talented forward scoring 33 points in a second-round NCAA women’s basketball tournament game at North Carolina State on Monday. The total was a season high and a fitting exclamation point on the transfer’s two years with the Lady Vols.
“What a player,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore said. “They’re saying she’ll be a second or third pick in the draft and it’s easy to see why. She’s a matchup nightmare.”
It also was evident that Jackson didn’t have enough help to prevent the 79-72 loss to the Wolfpack. Jasmine Powell and Tamari Key were the only UT players to score in doubles figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. The disparity will haunt Coach Kellie Harper’s dreams in the short term. The situation going forward could evolve into a nightmare of a different sort.
Like Jackson, Powell – Tennessee’s starting point guard – has exhausted her eligibility. Key, the Lady Vols center and career leader in blocked shots, has another season available to her due to the pandemic but hasn’t announced her intentions as of Tuesday morning. The same is true for guard Jewel Spear, who was Tennessee’s second-leading scorer.
Without Jackson, the Lady Vols are bound to have a drop-off next season. Depending on those other players and their choices, they might be hard-pressed next season to make the NCAA tournament field. Now there’s a thought to keep a coach tossing and turning through the night, particularly one in charge of a storied program that’s qualified for every tournament.
At least Monday’s result will allow Harper and her staff to immediately dive into the transfer portal in search of reinforcements. The odds aren’t good, though, that they’ll either find or secure the services of a player comparable to Jackson. Getting her in the first place was a comparative recruiting upset.
Before Jackson, UT’s best players were holdovers from Coach Holly Warlick’s era: Rennia Davis, Jordan Horston and Key. With Jackson, there wasn’t enough foundation in place to reclaim a spot in the sport’s top tier.
Worth noting: In the past two seasons, Tennessee has signed just two high school players. One of them, Justine Pissott, already has transferred.
Furthermore, there are two players on the roster – Tess and Edie Darby – from Greenfield (Tn.) High, but not the most productive player from the small Class 1A school in West Tennessee. Chloe Moore-McNeil is the starting point guard at Indiana. The 5-foot-11 senior is averaging 10.1 points per game and leads the Hoosiers in assists (152) and steals (41). Moore-McNeil had nine points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal in a 75-68 victory over Oklahoma on Monday night, which advanced the fourth-seeded Hoosiers to the Sweet 16 round of the Albany I regional.
Meanwhile, the final point Jackson scored Monday on Tennessee’s behalf was an endorsement.
“Just going to remember the good times at Tennessee, the way that Tennessee molded me into the woman I am today. I’m just grateful to have come here, and I feel like I made the right decision, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Maybe those kind words will help Tennessee’s recruiting. They sure couldn’t hurt.
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a 2022 inductee to the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.