Jackson was having an AA caliber season 20.3 PPG and 6.8 RPG which is not bad for "lackluster" play. Consider the major things that have happened to her since she enrolled at MSU. There was COVID. The coach that recruited her Vic left for Texas, The coach that convinced her to stay Nikki has been out all year battling cancer. One of her teammates and perhaps the teams best player Jessika Carter gets arrested. 6 of her teammates decide to transfer in March of 2021. In April of 2021 she inherits 3 brand new teammates from the Hayes clan of players that was clearly a package deal dumped on her.
That is quite a lot. Coming out of high school I had her rated as the second best defender in the class behind Jordan Horston. I was also very careful to point out that it was going to take the right coach for both of them to play defense up to their full potential. Vic was that right coach for Rickea. It really pains me to watch Rickea play lately because rarely is she not the best athlete on the floor and almost none of that athletic ability gets applied to the defensive side of the ball. If she chooses her next stop wisely she could be a defensive monster. Hint: Head northeast from your current location Rickea, stop once you get to 41.8084° N, 72.2495° W, a masterful instructor awaits you.