Tennessee ahead Rickia Jackson is opting to stick in class for yet one more season slightly than claim for this yr’s WNBA Draft, she introduced Monday.
- Jackson used to be projected to be picked at No. 4. athleticNewest mock draft of
- Jackson averaged 19.6 issues, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 32 video games (21 begins) for the Volunteers in his senior season. He spent the primary 3 years of his school occupation at Mississippi State.
- Tennessee misplaced to South Carolina within the SEC Championship on Sunday. Jackson added 17 issues within the 74–58 loss.
- No. 4 seed the Woman Vols will play No. 13 St. Louis within the first around of the NCAA event on Saturday.
what did jackson say
“I have been more than happy all through my time at Rocky Most sensible. “I am so thankful for my teammates and coaches and the unending bonds I have constructed right here,” Jackson wrote in a commentary. “I recognize the entire toughen from our wonderful fanatics for making this alteration on the College of Tennessee price it. However we aren’t executed but.
again tale
Tennessee earned its forty first directly NCAA event berth this season because the No. 4 seed within the Seattle Area 3 and might be host for the primary and 2d rounds.
In spite of being higher than everybody in Tennessee’s beginning lineup, Jackson’s season integrated being suspended and coming off the bench. However the drama with the Woman Vols should not detract from the truth that Jackson has been very productive, taking pictures 55.2 p.c from the sphere. He is superb at attacking the basket and drawing fouls, and has progressed his free-throw taking pictures each season.
This yr’s Tennessee crew is the primary excellent crew Jackson has performed for in his school occupation, and the impact of our environment has been dramatic.
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What does this imply for Tennessee?
Jackson’s choice to go back for a 2d season in Knoxville will elevate hopes for what the Woman Vols crew can accomplish subsequent yr. Already a flexible participant who used to be one of the athletic and professional WNBA newbies she grew to become professional, Jackson will now get an opportunity to play a complete season along celebrity UT middle Tamara Key, who has been sidelined since December because of blood clots. used to be sidelined. in her lungs however who had already introduced that she would go back to this system subsequent yr. The Woman Vols have now not made it to the Ultimate 4 since 2008, when Candace Parker used to be nonetheless in class. Having Jackson and Key again provides them a possible core that might damage that streak. , pickman
What does this imply for the 2023 WNBA Draft?
There have been already questions on what number of have an effect on avid gamers have been within the upcoming WNBA draft elegance. With out Jackson, there’s much more uncertainty as to who might be within the most sensible 5. Assuming she broadcasts, Aaliyah is assured to be Boston’s No. 1 select. Maryland guard Diamond Miller turns out like a most likely selection at No. 2. However who is going to No. 3 is up within the air. Jackson may have compatibility in with the Wings, who dangle the 3rd select. However now Dallas and the remainder of the league must glance in other places for extremely professional possibilities. , pickman
What this implies for the 2024 draft
One fascinating impact of Jackson’s choice to go back to university is that she may cross from being a possible No. 3 select within the WNBA Draft to being a mid-to-late first-round select within the 2024 WNBA Draft. Subsequent yr’s elegance is already regarded as one of the vital very best in fresh reminiscence, with avid gamers like Kaitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cam Verge of collapse, Aaliyah Edwards, and Paige Buchers.
In fact, Jackson will now have yet one more season to turn the WNBA entrance place of job why she merits a ramification above the names in that aforementioned crew, however there is not any ensure she’ll make the leap to any of them. From the standpoint of the WNBA entrance place of job, this continues to make draft alternatives much more treasured in 2024. , pickman
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(Photograph: David Yeagel / USA TODAY)
(tags to translate) Tennessee Ladies’s Volunteers