STARKVILLE — It hasn’t been the debut campaign Mississippi State freshman forward Rickea Jackson envisioned to this point.
Now two games into the 2019-2020 season following Monday’s 82-46 win over UT Martin, Jackson has struggled through the opening two regular season contests of her MSU career.
“I think she’s just pressing,” coach Vic Schaefer said after MSU’s season opening win over Southern Miss last Friday.
Entering the year, Jackson received as much hype as any first-year player in recent MSU history. The first-ever McDonald’s All-American to sign with the Bulldogs and the No. 6 overall recruit in ESPN HoopGurlz’s class of 2019 rankings, she averaged 22 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game as a senior at Detroit Edison Public School Academy.
And while Jackson torched Michigan prep competition en route to the 2018 and 2019 Gatorade State Player of the Year honors, she has been anything but prolific in the early stages of her MSU career.
“It’s pretty tough at times being new and learning all the plays for three different positions,” Jackson told the Dispatch before the season. “But it’s just something I have to do in order to see my team and I progress as one and to make it far during the season. It’s just something I have to do.”
Through the Bulldogs’ first two games — both of which she started — she’s totaled a meager 10 points on 22.2 percent shooting.
Facing a UT Martin squad that failed to win a game against Power Five competition last year Monday, Jackson dribbled a ball off a defender’s foot in the contest’s opening minute. She then received the ensuing inbounds pass, crossed over, and was promptly called for a carry.
Later, Jackson drove right-handed from the top of the key and stepped back for a 3-point jump shot that rattled off the rim.
On the sidelines an irate and coatless Schaefer voiced his displeasure with the shot.
“That’s not the look!” he yelled as his face turned red with rage.
“I only had an issue with one (shot) tonight and I could probably go down the list of everyone that played tonight and talk about one shot that maybe wasn’t my favorite,” Schaefer conceded postgame. “So it’s fine, it’s fine.”
But for all the miscues Jackson has displayed in her first two games of the year, it’s the sky-high potential she boasts that adds to Schaefer’s frustration.
Her four first half points came on back-to-back possessions — first splashing a pull-up floater from the left elbow as she was bumped by a Skyhawk defender and then swishing a spot-up jumper from the left baseline.
Further, Jackson showed an uncanny ability to score in bunches during MSU’s appearance in the World University Games in Naples, Italy over the summer. Seeing her first action with the Bulldogs, Jackson led the tournament in scoring (22.2 points per game) and finished second in field goal percentage (53.2 percent).
“I think for her most of her shots are good shots,” Schaefer said. “I think she’s probably got to just focus through contact and, again, you’re not used to going up against kids your size that have the same length and reach.”
And while Jackson’s struggles have compounded over the season’s first two games, MSU has yet to skip a beat offensively. In wins over Southern Miss and UT Martin, the Bulldogs averaged 86.5 points per game and a 33.5-point margin of victory.
Freshmen Aliyah Matharu and JaMya Mingo-Young have also aided in offensive explosion — averaging 12.5 and 10 points per game, respectively.
“I think they have a confidence level,” Scahefer said of his freshmen guards after the Southern Miss victory. “I just think they’re confident; I don’t think any moment is too big for them right now. I think those kids are competitive.”
Schaefer has long preached that this year will be a work in progress — Jackson’s shooting woes included. And while the prolific prep standout has demonstrated a need to develop, the issues are assuredly fixable just two games into a season that should last well into March.
“At the end of the day it ain’t about shots, it’s about makes,” Schaefer said. “And we’ve got to make shots — but I do like (Rickea’s) shot selection.”
Dawg Notes
Sophomore center Jessika Carter led all scorers Monday night with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Matharu was the game’s second-leading scorer with a career-high 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting, while junior forward Chloe Bibby added another 12 points.
MSU is back in action at 7 p.m. Friday night against Troy at Humphrey Coliseum.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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