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Rickea Jackson

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Rickea Jackson
Jackson with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2024
No. 2 – Los Angeles Sparks
PositionSmall forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-03-16) March 16, 2001 (age 23)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolDetroit Edison (Detroit, Michigan)
College
WNBA draft2024: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentLos Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA AmeriCup
Silver medal – second place 2023 Mexico Team
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place 2019 Italy Team
Women's 3x3 basketball
Representing the  United States
FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2019 Mongolia

Rickea Velece Jackson (born March 16, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Tennessee and Mississippi State.

Early life

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Jackson played basketball for Detroit Edison Public School Academy in Detroit, Michigan. She led her team to three consecutive Class C state titles.[1] As a senior, Jackson averaged 22 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, earning Michigan Miss Basketball honors and being selected to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic. She was named Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year for a second time.[2] Jackson left as the program's all-time leading scorer, with 1,771 points.[3] Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press considered her the greatest girls high school player in state history.[4] Rated a five-star recruit and the fifth-best player in her class by ESPN, she committed to play college basketball for Mississippi State over offers from South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Rutgers, Ohio State and Louisville.[5]

College career

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On February 20, 2020, Jackson scored a freshman season-high 34 points for Mississippi State in a 92–85 win against Auburn in overtime.[6] As a freshman, she averaged 15.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, earning second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and All-Freshman honors. Jackson won the Gillom Trophy as the top women's college player in Mississippi.[7] In her sophomore season, she averaged 14.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.[8] On December 1, 2021, Jackson scored a career-high 40 points in a 102–55 win over McNeese State.[9]

In January 2022, she entered the transfer portal, averaging an SEC-best 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in her junior season. Jackson announced on March 22, 2022, that she would transfer to Tennessee.[10] On March 3, 2023, she scored a senior season-high 34 points in an 80–71 win over Kentucky at the SEC tournament, setting the tournament single-game scoring record.[11] As a senior, Jackson averaged 19.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and was named first-team All-SEC. Despite being a projected first-round pick in the 2023 WNBA draft, she returned to Tennessee for a fifth season of eligibility, granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] She averaged 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and repeated as a first-team All-SEC selection.[13]

Professional career

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WNBA

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On April 15, 2024, Jackson was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks (via the Seattle Storm) as the fourth overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.[14]

Unrivaled

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On September 3, 2024, it was announced that Jackson would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[15]

National team career

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Jackson represented the United States alongside her Mississippi State teammates at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Italy. She led the tournament with 22.2 points per game and won a silver medal.[3] Jackson won a silver medal at the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup in Mexico, where she averaged a team-high 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, earning all-tournament honors.[16]

In 3x3 basketball, Jackson played at the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup in Mongolia, where she helped her team win the gold medal and was named to the all-tournament team.[3]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

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Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2024 Los Angeles 40 35 28.8 .456 .347 .807 3.9 1.5 0.7 0.4 1.9 13.4
Career 1 year, 1 team 40 35 28.8 .456 .347 .807 3.9 1.5 0.7 0.4 1.9 13.4

College

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NCAA statistics[17]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019–20 Mississippi State 33 27 30.1 48.3 41.9 72.4 5.1 1.2 0.8 0.6 2.5 15.1
2020–21 Mississippi State 19 16 31.6 42.0 29.5 54.7 4.4 2.0 0.7 0.4 2.9 14.9
2021–22 Mississippi State 15 15 34.9 41.0 24.3 73.0 6.8 1.1 0.9 1.5 1.8 20.3
2022–23 Tennessee 35 24 28.3 54.8 31.4 79.2 6.1 1.4 0.8 0.5 2.6 19.2
2023–24 Tennessee 25 24 31.5 48.5 33.8 78.0 8.2 2.3 0.7 0.2 2.9 20.2
Career 127 106 30.7 47.9 30.9 74.2 6.1 1.6 0.8 0.6 2.6 17.8

Personal life

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Rickea and fellow WNBA player, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton share a godmother, Debra Walker,[18] who played with Laney-Hamilton's mother Yolanda on the historic Cheyney State Lady Wolves basketball team.

References

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  1. ^ Wilson, Wright (March 23, 2019). "Rickea Jackson, Detroit Edison win third straight MHSAA state title". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Purcell, Jared (March 18, 2019). "Rickea Jackson of Detroit Edison is named 2019 Miss Basketball winner". MLive. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Rickea Jackson – Women's Basketball". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  4. ^ McCabe, Mick (February 7, 2019). "How Rickea Jackson became best girls basketball player in Michigan. Ever". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Sulonen, Dana (November 16, 2018). "Rickea Jackson commits to Mississippi State basketball over South Carolina". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Jackson, No. 9 Mississippi State beat Auburn 92-85 in OT". ESPN. Associated Press. February 20, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Portnoy, Ben (March 9, 2020). "Rickea Jackson, Reggie Perry take home Gillom and Howell Trophies". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  8. ^ DeRosa, Theo (October 26, 2021). "Mississippi State women's basketball picked ninth in SEC coaches poll". The Commercial Dispatch. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Lowery, Logan (December 2, 2021). "Jackson Pours In A Career-High 40 Points". Mississippi State University Athletics. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Philippou, Alexa (March 24, 2022). "Former Mississippi State basketball forward Rickea Jackson transferring to Tennessee Lady Vols". ESPN. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "Jackson's 34 points spark Tennessee past Kentucky, 80-71". USA Today. Associated Press. March 3, 2023. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Voepel, Michael (March 13, 2023). "Tennessee leading scorer Rickea Jackson returning for 5th year". ESPN. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  13. ^ Galluzzo, Steve (April 15, 2024). "After Caitlin Clark is drafted No. 1, Sparks select Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  14. ^ "WNBA Draft '24: Draft Results". 2024-04-15. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  15. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (September 3, 2024). "RICKEA JACKSON IS UNRIVALED👑 18/30✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Hall, Cora (July 9, 2023). "Lady Vols' Rickea Jackson scores 22 points in USA's loss to Brazil in 2023 FIBA AmeriCup final". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "Rickea Jackson College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  18. ^ https://www.essentiallysports.com/wnba-basketball-news-is-betnijah-laney-related-to-rickea-jackson-know-everything-about-wnba-stars-long-traced-connection/
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