Why Jewel Spear, a top scorer in the ACC, has big dreams as Lady Vols basketball transfer

Every time Jewel Spear got another call, she let it ring.

After the Wake Forest junior entered her name in the transfer portal, calls and texts flooded her phone. So she let her phone ring and only responded to coaches when she had serious interest.

When she got a call from Lady Vols basketball coach Kellie Harper, she let it ring. Spear was surprised by Tennessee's interest in her, but when she told her father, LeRonne, that Tennessee called, he wasn’t. With former Tennessee star Jordan Horston leaving for the WNBA, it had a need for a scoring guard.

"That kind of made me think about Tennessee and put them on my radar from there and then I started talking to Coach Kellie and the coaching staff," Spear said. "But it made me seriously start considering Tennessee because I knew who they were as a program."

The 5-foot-10 guard from The Colony, Texas, committed to Tennessee on May 4, joining the Lady Vols with two years of eligibility left. Spear chose Tennessee because it's a place she believes she can fulfill her dream of making a Final Four, but also prepare her for a future in the WNBA.

Why it was the right time for Jewel Spear to leave Wake Forest

Spear sat down with her family and reevaluated after every season in college.

She analyzed her performance, but also weighed the pros of staying and the pros of leaving. It’s the practice of giving an honest self-assessment that LeRonne taught her while coaching her since she was 5 years old.

Spear would ask her dad growing up, "Dad, how did I play? How did I do?" and he would counter by questioning her first – about the good and the bad.

After evaluating everything after her junior season, Spear said it felt like the right time to leave Wake Forest. She accomplished seemingly everything she could there and had been loyal to the school that believed in her from the start. Spear could have transferred after her sophomore season when there was a coaching change at Wake Forest, but she wanted to give the new coaching staff a chance.

"I just have a high belief in giving people chances and just sticking with people that believe in you," Spear said. "After my junior year, I did decide to leave. It had nothing to do with the coaches or Wake Forest alone, in a sense. It was a decision for me personally, thinking that it would help me grow and put me in an even more successful spot for my future."

When Jewel Spear realized her WNBA dream was attainable

Spear dreamed of playing in the WNBA after growing up watching players like four-time WNBA champion Maya Moore and two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker, who won two NCAA titles at Tennessee.

But it was always a dream that felt like just that – a dream. It wasn’t until Spear, who hadn't made Team USA U16 and U18 rosters, made the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup roster that she realized her dream could come true one day.

"It started opening my eyes to 'Hey, I might be something special,' " Spear said.

Spear played well in her first game in Hungary – she had 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals – but it was her only game, due to testing positive for COVID-19. She left feeling validated that she was among the best players in college basketball, though, and led the ACC in scoring with 18.3 points per game the next season.

Two years later, Spear is on the 2023 USA Women’s AmeriCup team. She’ll compete at the FIBA AmeriCup from July 1-9 in León, Mexico, with Tennessee teammate Rickea Jackson. All of it is experience that will help lead Spear to her ultimate goal of playing pro.

"It's somewhat gratifying, because as a parent, I can look at what she's done and everything that she's put in, and I know that her goal is attainable," LeRonne said. "I'm just looking forward to 2024 or 2025, actually hearing her name called and celebrating that moment with her."

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Why Tennessee 'just felt right' to Jewel Spear

Spear had just flown home from school when she decided to visit Tennessee.

Spear wanted to visit UT before a long week of no contact with the recruiting shutdown approaching. So they got the visit set up and flew out again the next day.

From the team culture, the resources academically for sports broadcasting and a bigger stage to build her brand, everything "just felt right" at Tennessee.

There’s also a need for Spear to be a scorer like she was at Wake Forest. Harper told Spear she wanted to give her confidence in what she does well offensively, but also develop her game and prepare her for the WNBA.

"It's proven that Coach Kellie and Tennessee in general puts players into the W," Spear said. "I'm going to be able to develop not only my offensive game, but just add more tools to my game that I'm not comfortable with ... whether it's rebounding, defense, just being an-all around player, because I know that in the W, you have to be an all-around player."

But first, Spear has goals to accomplish at Tennessee. She has dreams of making a Final Four, growing up watching March Madness and seeing iconic moments like Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale's two Final Four game-winners in 2018 and Mississippi State's Morgan William's buzzer beater to beat UConn in 2017.

"I just dream about taking those shots, making plays on that level," Spear said, "and I really do think I will be able to do that here at Tennessee."

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why did Jewel Spear pick Tennessee Lady Vols? Here's the inside story