Monique Brown sees a little of her Detroit Edison Public School Academy girls basketball team in the Mississippi State women’s basketball team.
One reason might be the fact Brown admits she took one of coach Vic Schaefer’s plays — the one Morgan William used to torch Baylor for 41 points in the final of the Oklahoma City Regional on March 26, 2017 — and is using it with her squad.
Another reason might be the fact she can see Rickea Jackson fitting in nicely to the Bulldogs’ dribble-drive offense.
“She is definitely an offensive player,” Brown said of her 6-foot-2 forward. “She definitely has the whole package on the offensive end because she can do so many things. She is no slouch on the defensive end.”
Brown said she will make a point to watch MSU on television as much as she can so she will be able to watch Jackson in Maroon and White. On Friday, Jackson, the No. 9 recruit in the Class of 2019 according to espnW HoopGurlz and No. 5 player according to All-Star Girls Report, announced on Twitter she was going to attend MSU.
Brown said she knew which school Jackson was going to pick, which made it tough for her to handle telephone calls and text messages from reporters and coaches from MSU and South Carolina in the final days. She said she also knew Schaefer was going to attend a scrimmage at the school Friday, which Jackson didn’t realize.
She said she is excited Jackson picked a school she feels is the best fit for her.
“She has unbelievable versatility with her size and the things she can do,” Brown said. “At 6-2, she is out there like maybe someone who is 5-9 doing some of the things she does. She is a complete offensive threat. She has the 3-point shot, she has the pull-up jump shot, she is physical and aggressive, she can get to the basket, she runs the floor and she defends really well.”
Brown is going to put Jackson’s ability to guard to the test. She said she recently asked Jackson if she thought she could guard herself. Brown said Jackson didn’t understand the question, but she said her star pupil is going to have to learn to guard players with skill sets like hers if she is going to be able to transition to one of the nation’s top programs.
In an effort to improve defensively, Brown said Jackson is trying to guard smaller point guards in practice so she can learn how to stay with them and do it without fouling.
Brown said Jackson is “super, super competitive,” which means she will dive right into the challenge and get better. In fact, Brown said Jackson gets “locked in” to accomplishing any goal or doing something she wants to do. She said that mentality carries over to practice and often leads Jackson to do two-a-days or three-a-days to polish her skills.
“She is going to fit in like a nice little perfect piece of the puzzle,” Brown said.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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