Lady Vols basketball teammates Rickea Jackson, Jewel Spear get head start on bonding at 2023 FIBA AmeriCup

When Rickea Jackson saw Jewel Spear at the USA AmeriCup Team trials in May, she didn't believe Spear was 5-foot-10.

Jackson guessed her new teammate was about 5-6, which Spear denied adamantly.

"It is not true at all," Spear said in May. "I stood next to (Tennessee) coach Kellie (Harper), and coach Kellie said she's 5-10 with shoes, and I'm 5-10 with shoes ... she's been trying to tell me I'm 5-6."

After the comparisons to other people, Jackson conceded that Spear, who transferred to Tennessee from Wake Forest this offseason, was a bit taller than her original assessment.

"She's a solid 5-9," Jackson said Tuesday. "But she thinks she's 5-10."

The two Lady Vols basketball seniors bonded quickly after meeting at USA Basketball trials. Both made the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup team and won a silver medal in León, Mexico on July 9. They spent nearly a month straight together, going straight to training camp for the AmeriCup after Tennessee's 12-day European trip in June.

Besides the time spent together, Spear and Jackson are both Pisces, which they both joked is why they gel so well.

"We've gotten close pretty quickly," Jackson said. "I would have to say because of our zodiac signs, she's a Pisces. Literally every Pisces that I know, we click instantly. So it was just meant to be."

Their parents also became friends at the AmeriCup, with Jackson's mother, Caryn, and Spear's father, LeRonne, making the trip.

"They definitely had more fun than we did, they had a party," Jackson said. "But it was pretty cool to have that support come all the way to Mexico and just always have them after the game to give a hug. I was pretty homesick, being away from home for a month, so just seeing my mom helped a lot, honestly ... I've never been away from home for a whole month straight, so that was hard for me, because I just wanted to get home to my dogs."

Playing at the AmeriCup was a second chance for Spear, whose first time playing with USA was cut short in 2021 when she tested positive for COVID-19. Spear said the experience at the AmeriCup this year helped her evolve as a player and a leader.

"I was able to play against more experienced people, so I think my game grew," Spear said. "I was able to see the physicality of people and see different people, different levels, different styles of play."

Spear averaged 5.6 points and 1.4 assists over seven games and led USA with 10 3-pointers made.

Jackson was USA's leading scorer, averaging 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds through seven games. She shot 42.9% from 3-point range and 44.4% from the field, and her performance earned her a spot on the All-Star Five of the tournament.

The 102 points scored by Jackson are the second-most in USA AmeriCup history, according to USA Basketball, only falling short of Lisa Leslie's 129 points in 1993. Jackson scored against international and WNBA veterans with her trademark flair, and handled the physicality of international play well with the majority of her shots heavily contested.

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"It just gave me a glimpse of how it'll be in the league, the WNBA and overseas," Jackson said. "They're very, very physical and the calls that we would normally get over here in the U.S. – they're not calling that over there. (I had to) play more physical but still play finesse, like still play my game. Don't play down to their level or feel like I have to out-physical them. They've been doing this for a long time. So I just have to be quicker, smoother, smarter than they are."

Jackson admitted she was nervous going into the AmeriCup coming straight from the Europe trip. She wasn't able to get in the gym to prepare like she usually would.

"Going in I was like, 'I hope my shot's not off. I hope my handles aren't too loose,' " Jackson said. "So I was kind of worried about my ability, but I kind of just let my confidence take over and know the work I've put in over the years ... I just relied on that to lead the way for me. So it built my confidence even more, knowing I was not even in the gym and I was still able to perform the way that I did."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball: Rickea Jackson, Jewel Spear bond at FIBA AmeriCup