LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas women’s basketball Coach Tom Collen, coming off his most successful season since arriving in Fayetteville five years ago, got more good news Monday morning when Jacksonville’s Jessica Jackson orally committed to play basketball for the Razorbacks.
Getting Jackson, one of the nation’s top recruits, is a coup for Collen, who took the Razorbacks to the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time last season, his fifth as UA coach.
Jackson is rated as the nation’s No. 14 recruit by Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, and announced her intentions in front of a packed gymnasium of fellow students, administrators and family members.
Jackson, 6-2, had more than 30 scholarship offers but narrowed her list to Arkansas, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Kentucky before choosing the Razorbacks.
She averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots for the Red Devils as a junior.
Jackson said state loyalty and the presence of Collen and his coaching staff were key components in her decision.
“Coach Collen, he’s very nice,” Jackson said. “He’s like a dad and treats me like a daughter.”
Jackson, who plays for the Arkansas Mavericks during the spring and summer, joins a Mavericks teammate, combination guard McKenzie Adams, 5-9, of Frisco (Texas) Centennial, as Arkansas commitments.
Jackson said she plans to recruit others to the Razorbacks program, including guards Tyler Scaife of Little Rock Hall and Roshunda Johnson of Little Rock Parkview. Olson ranks Scaife (No. 11) and Johnson (No. 48) among his top prospects.
“There’s a lot more, but those are the ones off the top of my head,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she is looking forward to playing in the SEC.
“That’s like the toughest conference,” Jackson said.
Jackson said her father, Jeff, deserves credit for making her the player she is.
“He’s a big influence in my life,” Jackson said. “If he never taught me, I don’t know if I would be playing ball. I don’t know what I would be doing.”
Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Sports, Pages 15 on 08/28/2012