In the latest episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball, Hunter Cruse, Em Adler and Lincoln Shafer discuss how several WNBA draft prospects fared in the opening week of the women’s college basketball season.
Em talks first about 6’2 Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson, who scored 15 points in a preseason exhibition game against Team USA on Nov. 5 and followed that up with 31 points, 17 rebounds and four assists against a ranked Florida State team. Here’s Em on Jackson’s week of hoops:
“The things that she is good at, she is really frickin’ good at. But the sort of question is if there’s some level of regression when you get to the WNBA, when you’re going against better athletes and the windows get smaller and tougher. … But the thing for me about the Team USA [exhibition game] and the thing that really stood out was once she got the feel of the game, got up to speed [in] the game and got to really just deciding that she had found her rhythm and she was going to make the second quarter hers, she went off. Second quarter, 4-for-5 from the field, including a pull-up three. She was doing these with small windows …
“And I think we saw that obviously a couple nights ago in terms of the Tennessee-Florida State game. … [And] what was even more impressive about it was … [Florida State center Makayla Timpson] is one of the best shot blockers, rim protectors in the country, and Rickea Jackson’s just ability to manipulate timing on her finishes, her feel for just the finishing process, her ability to really adapt to the rhythm of the game, and to be able to be comfortable and confident and just so polished.”
Other top prospects the trio discuss in this episode include Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore and Elizabeth Kitley, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, and Tennessee’s Jewel Spear. Listen to the episode to hear their takes.
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