Edison's Jackson signs with Mississippi State

Tony Paul
The Detroit News
Rickea Jackson joins a star-studded recruiting class at Mississippi State, which includes five of the nation’s top 70 prospects.

Detroit Edison’s Rickea Jackson, the top girls basketball player in the state and the No. 9 prospect in the nation according to ESPN, signed her national letter of intent with Mississippi State on Friday.

Jackson chose the Bulldogs over a bevy of offers, including fellow powerhouse South Carolina.

A wing, Jackson enters her senior season with a mighty full resume, including the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2018 Associated Press Class C Player of the year.

Averaging 21.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks as a junior, she led Edison to a 24-1 record and a second consecutive Class C championship. In the semifinals and finals, she combined for 41 points and 17 rebounds. She will be the leading candidate for Michigan’s Miss Basketball in 2019; the last player from a Detroit school to win that award was King’s Markita Aldridge in 1990.

“Rickea is one of the elite players in the country, a top-10 player,” Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said in a statement. “Rickea has the skill set to do it all. She is going to be fun to watch. Not only is Rickea very talented, but she is just a special kid who is driven.

“We are very excited about what Rickea has the ability to do for our program here at State. She is going to impact it in so many different ways, and she is going to make everyone around her better because she is going to draw a lot of attention.”

As a sophomore, she averaged 17.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. As a freshman, she averaged 24.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. She’s been voted to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Best of the Best All-State all three years.

Jackson joins a star-studded recruiting class at Mississippi State, which includes five of the nation’s top 70 prospects.

“The family atmosphere is what really pushed me toward Mississippi State,” Jackson said in a release sent out by the school. “It was just an absolute feeling that I had received. When I came on my official visit, I had this feeling in my gut that this was the place for me. I held back on saying so because I wanted to give every school the same opportunity.

“When I returned on an unofficial visit, I knew for sure this was home and I had to say something.”

Mississippi State was the runner-up the last two seasons, falling to Notre Dame in the 2018 championship game and South Carolina in 2017.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

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